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The binding design on the front
cover of this volume is a replica
of a binding embodying the
arms of St. Francis by Aldus
Manutius of Venice, date circa
1500.

14- ( ^^

The design on the reverse of
this page is a replica (slightly
adapted) from the Italian HaiUy
MS. 3229, f. 26, the Life of
St. Francis by St. Bonaventura,
date 1504.

PREFACE

1^ HE Fioretti ^ov **Little Flowers/' is not a biography,
but a collection of episodes, or, as the title itself
describes it, the fairest and choicest flowers of the
seraphic life of S. Francis and his companions.
For this reason it begins at a comparatively late
period in the life of the Saint.

We do not here propose to discuss the researches
of scholars into the origin of the Latin text of
the Fioretti^ the earlier writings from which they
have been derived, or the extent to which they
may be regarded as authentic. Though much
discussed, these problems have never been satis-
factorily settled, and here we can do no more
than briefly notice them.

The originality of the Italian text of the Fioretti
was never even discussed by the old editors of
those golden pages. Charmed by the simplicity
of the narrative, the freedom of style, and quaint
sweetness of speech, they paid no heed to the
fact that towards the end of the seventeenth
century, Wadding — a learned English Fran-
ciscan— discovered amongst the archives of the
Order a Floretum which he held to be the Latin
source of the Fioretti. The same incredulity
greeted Ireneo Affò when he pointed to several
chapters of the Chronicles of the XXIV Generals

vi PREFACE

of the Order^ which had been faithfully trans-
lated and included in the Italian selection of
the Fioretti. The honour of pointing the way
to a solution of the question belongs to the
Florentine "Accademia della Crusca," which body,
in the fifth impression of its Vocabolario^ first
issued in 1843, claimed that a portion of the
Conformitates Sancti Francisci of Brother Barto-
lommeo degli Albizzi, presented to the Chapter
General of the Order in 1399, was the Latin
source of the Fioretti. As a matter of fact this
was an error, for there certainly existed Fioretti
manuscripts previous to that date. A few years
later, however, Barbieri, in his edition of the
Franciscan work, pointed out a new source of
the Fioretti in the Speculum vit^ S. Francisci et
sociorum ejus — and recently, after a patient and
methodical examination of the manuscripts of the
Irish College of S. Isiodor, Edoardo Alvisi re-
discovered the text mentioned by Wadding, the
Actus S. Francisci et sociorum ejus, which he im-
mediately identified as the Latin text of the
Italian Fioretti. According to Giuseppe Staderini,
however, the Actus cannot possibly be the im-
mediate source of the Italian work, but both
the one and the other are in all probability de-
rived from a still older and unknown source. In
short, much remains either entirely unknown or
else disputed — and indeed must remain so until a
thorough comparative study has been made of the
manuscripts of the Actus and the Fioretti^ some of
which exhibit numerous and important variants.
Meanwhile, however, the long labours of the

PREFACE vii

critics have made it clear that the Fioretti were
originally written in Latin, that part of this
Latin original is found in the Actus^ and that
the Italian translator must have abridged his
version from a much larger work. We can now
only believe and hope that the ceaseless researches
of students of Franciscan matters will some day
succeed in discovering the much desired manu-
script whence both the Actus and the Fioretti take
their immediate source.

Even less is known concerning the author of the
Floretum. It would appear that Brother Ugolino
di Monte Santa Maria most certainly had a hand
in compiling the work, but it is impossible to
decide whether his co-operation was limited to the
chapters dealing with the life of Brother Giovanni
della Verna, and indirectly to the compiling of the
chapter De inventione Montis Alvern^^ as Dr. Stade-
rini believes, or whether, as Sabatier conjectures,
he was partly author and partly a mere compiler
of the book, making use of older documents in
all matters concerning the earliest companions
of S. Francis. Scholars have discovered nothing
decisive as to the translator of the Fioretti into
Italian, but they suppose that he was a Brother
Minor of the fourteenth century, a Tuscan, and
that his work is an almost literal rendering into
his own tongue of the Franciscan records col-
lected by the friar of Monte San Giorgio.

While we neither desire nor intend to discuss
the opinions of scholars, a brief expression of our
own views is permissible. To our thinking, the
question of the ancient source of the Floretum^

vili PREFACE

whether derived from this or that manuscript or
author, is a matter of secondary importance. In
any case, the Floretum is not the composition of
any single author, but rather the work of an
entire people. It is a collection of the legends
and traditions relating to the Saint of Assisi
and his best-loved and more prominent com-
panions : these gradually increased in number,
and were written down by one or more of
the brethren for the greater glory of their
seraphic founder and the edification of the world
in general. This, in our opinion, is the reason
why the contents of the Fioretti differ in so
many and important respects from those ancient
biographies of the Saint, of which the principal
and most famous are the Legenda and Memoriale
of Brother Thomas of Celano, the Legenda Trium
Sociorum — namely, Brothers Leo, Angelo and
Ruffino — and the biography written by S. Bona-
ventura.

As is well known, the Legenda^ or First Life of
S. Francis, was compiled by Brother Thomas of
Celano at the express command of Pope Gregory
IX in the years 1228 and 1229, and the Second
Life^ or, more properly, the Meynoriale^ towards
1247, ^'^ consequence of a decision of the Chapter
General of the Order, which in 1244 entrusted the
recording of the most memorable deeds and words
of the Saint to the friar of Celano, as the one who
'* more than any other should be acquainted with
them, because of his constant conversation, and
intimate friendship, with the Saint." In these
writings of Thomas of Celano we may recognise,

PREFACE ix

so to speak, the official biographical notices of S.
Francis. In his recent study — S. Francis of Assisi
and his Legend^ Professor Nino Tamassia, of the
University of Padua, carefully examines the sources
of Thomas of Celano's two Lives^ with the two-
fold intention **of pointing out the literary remi-
niscences which they evidently contain, and of
investigating their source." We learn, thus, that
if S. Francis had not in his youth led a life of
folly and vanity, Brother Thomas would never have
recalled to mind the conversion of S. Augustine.
He points out how, in the description of the death
and apparition of the Saint — couched almost in the
exact words of Sulpicius Severus — Thomas slips
into the biography of S. Martin, because the latter
appears to Sulpicius *' borne upon a white cloud,'*
for the sole purpose of rewarding him for his
labours in writing his life. And, finally, he de-
clares that the acquaintance shown by Thomas of
Celano with the works of Gregory the Great,
explains many an enigma in the life and perhaps
also in the Rule of the Franciscan Order, because
the atmosphere saturated with dogmatical and theo-
logical literature of which Thomas is the principal
representative, is the same wherein was developed
the activity of the Saint of Assisi.

All this certainly proves that the biographer
had an excellent memory for what he had read ; it
also enables us to say precisely which legendary
or biographical elements in the Legenda and the
Memoriale survive from earlier theological and
ascetic works. It will not suffice — unless we are
much mistaken — to destroy all faith in the narra-

X PREFACE

tive of Thomas of Celano. To try the Middle
Ages by the rules of modern literary copyright
would seem sufficiently strange, but to speak
of plagiarism — even '* elegant plagiarism" — in
connection with Brother Thomas is certainly ab-
surd. Those who are familiar with the works of
the ancients know the views and the rules, which
they held and followed, and how, when necessary,
they simply appropriated not only the thoughts and
ideas of other writers, but frequently even the very
words or sentences in which these ideas were ex-
pressed. Not only did the writers of the Middle
Ages draw largely from whatever they deemed the
fullest and the most useful sources for their pur-
pose, helping themselves with impunity and with-
out any reproach of plagiarism, but in so doing
they exercised more than a right — they per-
formed the recognised duty of a precise and faithful
narrator. The use of traditional forms and con-
ceptions was not a practice to be condemned ; it
was, on the contrary, an absolute necessity for the
purpose of impressing with the stamp of truth
whatever was to be presented to the mind or
imagination of the reader. S. Augustine has a
passage to this effect in one of his works.

The legend, on the other hand, as Ildebrando
della Giovanna observes in his study on S. Francis
of Assisi, " is a plant which springs up and grows
vigorously in every field fertilised by popular senti-
ment and imagination ; it is a spontaneous growth.*'
The life of S. Francis, which was spent amongst
the most sincere and lively manifestations of love
and feeling at a time when society was torn by

PREFACE xi

great and unquenchable hatreds — hatreds which
the Church of Christ never dreamed of pacifying,
but rather did its best to keep alive — naturally-
offered a soil well prepared for the reception and
subsequent abundant flowering of the seed of
legend. And it is precisely in the light of
popular legends that we see the figure of the Saint
in its most lifelike and truest presentment :
legends grew up around him so luxuriantly that
— again to quote Delia Giovanna — *' every biog-
rapher may find new material not previously used
by others."

For this reason we are often tempted to feel that
the researches of erudite students of Franciscan
lore and legend — learned, patient, and subtle —
are wearisome and not always profitable labours,
only serving to change and deform the funda-
mental lines of the figure of the Saint of Assisi.
Assuredly, the living, speaking S. Francis, working
in a fervour of love and pity amongst the ecstatic
crowds, now submissive and reverent, now mock-
ing and rebellious, must have been, for those who
saw and knew him well, a very different man from
the S. Francis of the biographers : we may with
some confidence assert that he must have differed
even more widely from the Saint who appears in
the writings of certain of the more modern of
these.

Even if we take the Life of S. Francis^ written by
one of our most noted and indefatigable scholars,
Paul Sabatier, we feel that however excellent and
useful it may be as a piece of historical investiga-
tion, and though many new and indisputable facts

xii PREFACE

are for the first time brought forward and given
their due place in the Saint's biography, the light
thrown upon the figure of Brother Francis but
serves the more sharply to outline it before us,
without rendering it either more lifelike or more
inspiring. There is assuredly something lacking
in this reconstruction of the Saint's career, and this
something that we miss is the faint, elusive per-
fume of his soul — if we may so describe it — his inti-
mate, intangible, indescribable charm. ''Monsieur
Sabatier," says Giulio Salvadori, " in one passage
of his book recalls to mind the cyclamen pudique-
ment blotties at the foot of the great firs on Monte
la Verna, but he has failed to notice the little
mountain pinks that spread their sweet scent
upon the hillside whereon S. Francis received the
stigmata." His work fails to give us what we can,
on the contrary, obtain from tradition and legend,
the profound and delicate beauty which clothes the
personality of the Poor Man of Assisi.

As we have already remarked, the Fioretti of S.
Francis possesses but a restricted value if regarded
from the biographical point of view. It lacks a
certain and consistent historical foundation, and
the anonymous compiler, if there was only one,
obtained his knowledge of facts less from reliable
written documents than from the oral traditions
which are even to this day preserved unspoilt in the
convents of Umbria and Tuscany. He gathered
them, we may suppose, from the very people
through whose midst the Saint and his fervent com-
panions passed upon their way, filling them with
marvel at their life of simplicity and their words

PREFACE xiii

burning with love and charity. A splendid
example, truly, must these friars have shewn, as
they preached amidst the dreadful clamour of
war, the greed and suspicion of rulers, the horrors
of fraternal discord, ruin, fire, sack, and starvation,
their divine message of justice and of peace. At
this time, moreover, heresy was rampant on all
sides, disturbing men's consciences and threatening
with overthrow the Church of Christ, already torn
with internal strife and corrupted by simony and
the evil practices of the clergy, which neither the
power of Papal reformers nor the isolated efforts
of individual preachers could succeed in overcom-
ing or restraining.

But however poor in historical foundation they
may be, it is certain that in the Floretum and its
translations we see the figures of the Saint and his
friars as vividly as did the people of Umbria and
Tuscany, who actually beheld and loved him ;
we see him, moreover, still surrounded with that
glory with which their eyes invested him. Better
than any critical reconstruction, better than any
biography, old or new, the Franciscan legend con-
tained in the Floretum gives us a faithful picture of
S. Francis, transporting us to the green Umbrian
land, to the Marches of Ancona, or to stony Monte
la Verna betwixt Tiber and Arno, wherever,
indeed, the Saint lived, passed, preached, hoped
and prayed, bringing back to our ears the clear
echo of his words, showing us his habitations in the
wilderness, and enabling us to share in the life,
half childlike, half angelic, of those who dwelt
there.

xiv PREFACE

Wherein, then, lies the power and charm of
the Floretum if not in the fact that it represents
the evergreen legend of the Poverello and his
humble followers as it lived in the minds and
hearts, in the simple but fertile imagination, of
the people whose joys and sorrows, whose hopes
and needs he shared, the people who saw the
saint living and working in those places which
formed the field of his activity, and to whom
he attributed his own passions and feelings. For
this reason the Fioretti is incomparably more valu-
able in our eyes than all the hagiographies ever
written ; for on the figures of S. Francis and his
chief companions — Fra Matteo, Fra Egidio, Fra
Ginepro, or Fra Lupo — as portrayed in this col-
lection of legends and narrations, sometimes child-
like and sometimes miraculous, the popular verdict
has conferred an historical reality perhaps more
convincing and more near to the truth than all the
well-known Lives of the Saint, or all the recon-
structions and researches of critics and scholars.

The secret of the great success of the Fioretti^
the secret of the singular fascination exercised by
these old pages, which even now, after so many
centuries, speak straight to the heart and mind
of the reader, lies precisely in the mystery of their
composition, which can be compared with that of
no other literary work. Here we find ourselves
face to face with a spontaneous and popular pro-
duction, which has preserved only those elements
in the Saint's life that accorded with the popular
faith, credulity and conscience. The book of
the Fioretti is not a literary work ; it is folk-lore,

PREFACE XV

and represents the hagiographic saga — that is to
say, it represents what was said and felt about
S. Francis in his own country by the people who
preserved the traditions of his heroic and saintly
life and deeds.

To criticise such productions of an entire people
and an entire age — productions which breathe pure
and simple poetry — as though they were the inven-
tions of a single brain ; to treat them as if they
were a genuine literary work, to strip the legend
of all that is most attractive, is surely both useless
and cruel. It is useless, because in spite of all
criticism the legend will ever awaken a response
in the hearts of all who can feel and love, because
the affections instinctively cling to these saintly
dream-figures which have about them nothing of
human reality. It is cruel, because criticism, with
its cold inquiries and revelations, has no right to
rob poetry of its charm, faith and credulity of their
comfort.

Scholars may apply their pruning-knives to the
ideal figure of the Saint as he appears, full of life
and of love, in the simple pages of the Fioretti. But
the golden book which was born in the green
Umbrian hills, and has passed from Latin, through
Italian, into other tongues without suffering any
loss of its grace and charm, will continue to be
read in spite of critics, and will make the hearts of
its readers beat faster so long as they are capable
of feeling aught that is tender and true. In this
popular and mystical legend, S. Francis, encircled
with a halo of love and charity, and shining with

XVI

PREFACE

a pure glory which no cloud of criticism is able to
dim, appears like a knight of the San Graal in
the immortal legend of the north.

For the purpose of increasing the value of
this new edition of the Fioretti^ we have reproduced
for the first time certain of the quaint illustrations
relating to events in the life of the Saint of Assisi
contained in Codice Laurenziano Gaddiano CXII —
a parchment manuscript belonging to the second
half of the fourteenth century, described by Bandini
in his catalogue of the Laurentian Library (Flor-
ence, 1792; Supplem. col. 124).

This manuscript belonged to a convent of Fran-
ciscan nuns, called the Convent of Foligno, which
to this day exists in Florence in the Via Faenza.
As is the case with most old manuscripts, the
names, both of the scribe and of the artist who
furnished the illustrations, are unknown; the writ-
ing is undoubtedly by a fourteenth-century hand,
and to the same period belong also the ornamen-
tation of the initial letters in blue and red, and
the drawings, many of which are mere sepia out-
lines, others being more or less fully coloured.
The latter part of the manuscript was finished in
1427, according to the inscription at the end. This
note, however, which brings us forward a score of
years into the fifteenth century, has no bearing
whatever on the pala^ographic and artistic character
of either writing or drawings. These are as strictly
of the preceding century, as is our own handwrit-
ing of that nineteenth century in which we were

PREFACE xvii

educated. Quaint and crude as they are, these
drawings have, in their very simplicity, a charm
and '' power of persuasion '' that many will find un-
surpassed by even the very masterpieces of Giotto
himself.

GUIDO BIAGL

Biblioteca Laurenziana,

Florence, March 1908.

TABLE OFrCONTENTS

v^

I. In the name of our Lord Jesu Christ the Crucified,
and of His Virgin Mother Mary. In this book
are found certain Httle Flowers, Miracles and
devout ensamples of the glorious poor little one
of Christ, S. Francis, and of certain his holy
Companions, to the praise of Jesu Christ. Amen i
II. Of Brother Bernard of Quintavalle, first com-
panion of S. Francis ...... 2

III. How for an evil thought that S. Francis had against

Brother Bernard, he bade the said Brother
Bernard tread three times with his feet upon his
mouth and on his throat 7

IV. How the angel of God proposed a question unto

Brother Elias, guardian of a House in the valley
of Spoleto, and because Brother Elias answered
him proudly, departed and went along the road
to S. James's, where he found Brother Bernard
and told him this story ..... 10

V. How the holy Brother Bernard of Assisi was sent
by S. Francis to Bologna and there founded a
House . . . • . -15

VI. How S. Francis blessed the holy Brother Bernard
and left him as his vicar, when he came to pass
away from this life . . . . . .18

VII. How S. Francis passed a Lent in an island in the
Lake of Perugia, where he fasted forty days and
forty nights, and ate no more than one half loaf 21
VIII. How, as .S. Francis and Brother 1 00 were going
by the way, he set forth unto him what things
were perfect joy ... ... 23

IX. How S. Francis taught Brother Leo how to answer

XX CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

him ; and how he could never say aught save
the contrary of what S. Francis wished . . 26
X. How Brother Masseo, as though mocking, said
unto S. Francis that all the world came after
him : and he replied that this was for the con-
fusion of the world and the grace of God . . 29
XI. How S. Francis made Brother Masseo turn round
and round several times, and then went to
Siena ......... 30

XII. How S. Francis laid on Brother Masseo the
office of the door, of alms-giving, and of the
kitchen : then at the prayers of the brothers set
him free of them ...... 33

XIII. How S. Francis and Brother Masseo set the

bread that they had begged upon a stone hard
by a fountain, and how S. Francis praised poverty
exceedingly. Then besought God and S. Peter
and S. Paul that He would set in his heart the
love of holy poverty, and how S. Peter and S.
Paul appeared unto him • • • • • 35

XIV. How, as S. Francis and his brothers were dis-

coursing of God, He appeared in the midst of

them • • • 39

XV. How S. Clare ate with S. Francis and the
brothers, his companions, in S. Mary of the

Angels .40

XVI. How S. Francis received the counsel of S. Clare
and of the holy Brother Silvester, that it behoved
him by preaching to convert much people ; and
how he founded the third Order, and preached
unto the birds, and made the swallows hold
their peace ........ 43

XVII. How a little boy-brother, while S. Francis was
praying in the night, saw Christ and the Virgin
Mary and many other saints hold converse with

him 48

XVIII. Of the marvellous Chapter that S. Francis held
at S. Mary of the Angels, whereat were more
than five thousand brothers .... 50

CONTENTS

XXI

CHAP.

XIX.

XX.

XXI.

XXII.
XXIII.

XXIV.

XXV.

XXVI.

XXVII.

XXVIII.

XXIX.

How the vineyard of the priest of Rieti, in
whose house S. Francis prayed, was robbed
and despoiled of its grapes by the much
folk that came to him ; and then miraculously
yielded more wine than ever before, even as
S. Francis had promised him. And how God
revealed unto S. Francis that at his death

• he should inherit Paradise . . . -55

Of a vision wondrous fair, seen by a young
brother, the which did hold the cowl in such
hate that he minded to put off the habit and
leave the Order 58

Of the most holy miracle that S. Francis wrought
when he converted the fierce wolf of Agobio 60

How S. Francis tamed the wild turtle-doves . 65

How S. Francis delivered the brother that was
in sin with the devil ..... 66

How S. Francis won over to the faith the
Soldan of Babylon 67

How S. Francis miraculously healed one that
was a leper both in soul and body ; and what
the soul said to him, as it went up into
heaven ........ 70

How S. Francis converted three robbers that
were murderers and made brothers of them ;
and of the most noble vision that was seen
by one of them, the which was a most holy
brother 74

How S. Francis converted in Bologna two
scholars, who became brothers ; and how
thereafter he delivered one of them from a
sore temptation . . . . . -83

Of an ecstasy that came to Brother Bernard ;
whereby he abode from morning until Nones,
so that of himself he was not ware ... 86

How the devil appeared many times unto
Brother Ruffino in the form of the Crucified,
telling him that all the good he did was lost,
since he was not among those elect to life

xxii CONTENTS

CHAP. PACK

eternal. Whereof S. Francis was ware
through revelation from God, and made
Brother Ruffino to know his error in lending
credence thereto ...... 88

XXX. Of the beautiful sermon preached in Assisi

by S, Francis and Brother Ruffino . . 93
XXXI. How S. Francis knew the secrets of the con-
sciences of all his brothers in order . . 95
XXXII. How Brother Masseo obtained of Christ the

virtue of his humility 97

XXXIII. How S. Clare, at the bidding of the Pope,

blessed the bread that was on the table : so
that on every loaf appeared the sign of the
holy Cross 99

XXXIV. How S. Louis, King of France, went in person,

in the guise of a pilgrim, to Perugia, for to
visit the holy Brother Giles .... 100
XXXV. How S. Clare, being sick, was miraculously
carried, on the night of Christmas Eve, to
the church of S. Francis and there heard
the office 102

XXXVI. How S. Francis set forth unto Brother Leo

a fair dream that he had seen . . .104
XXXVII. How Jesu Christ, the blessed One, at the
prayer of S. Francis, let convert a rich and
gentle knight and become a brother, the
which had shown great honour and liberality

unto S. Francis 105

XXXVIII. How S. Francis knew in spirit that Brother
Elias was damned, and would die outside
the Order ; wherefore at the supplication of
Brother Elias, he prayed to Christ for him,
and his prayer was heard .... 108

XXXIX. Of the marvellous sermon that the Brother
Minor, S. Antony of Padua, preached in

the Consistory 1 1 1

XL. Of the miracle which God wrought when S.
Antony, being at Rimini, preached to the
fishes of the sea . . . . . .112

CONTENTS

xxni

CHAP.

XLI.

XLII.

XLIII.

XLIV.

XLV.
XLVI.

XLVII.

XLVIII.

XLIX.
L.

How the venerable Brother Simon delivered
from a grievous temptation a brother, that
wished on this account to leave the Order

Of the fair miracles that God wrought by
the hands of the holy brothers, Brother
Bentivoglia, Brother Peter of Monticello, and
Brother Conrad of Offida : and how Brother
Bentivoglia carried a leper fifteen miles in
a very brief space ; and how S. Michael spake
unto the other, and the Virgin Mary came
unto the third and laid her Son in his
arms

How Brother Conrad of Offida converted a
young brother, that was troubling the other
brethren. And how this young brother dying,
appeared to the said Brother Conrad be-
seeching him to pray for him : and how
by his prayers he set him free from the
grievous pains of Purgatory ....

How there appeared unto Brother Conrad the
Mother of Christ, S. John the Evangelist and
S. Francis ; and told him which of them
had the greater grief for the Passion of
Christ . . . ...

Of the conversion and life and miracles and
death of the holy Brother John of La Penna .

How Brother Peaceful being at prayer saw
the soul of Brother Humble, his brother, going
up to heaven .......

Of the holy brother unto whom appeared the
Mother of Christ, what time he was sick,
bringing him three boxes of electuary

How Brother Jacques of La Massa saw in a
dream all the Brothers Minor in the world,
in the likeness of a tree, and learned the virtue
and the merits and the vices of each

How Jesu Christ appeared unto Brother John
of Alvernia .... . .

How Brother John of Alvernia, as he said Mass

115

119

122

125

126

n,2

134

137

141

xxiv CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

on All Souls' Day, saw many souls delivered

from Purgatory 147

LI. Of the holy Brother Jacques of Fallerone ; and
how after his death, he appeared unto Brother

John of Alvernia 148

LII. Of the vision of Brother John of Alvernia,
whereby he understood all the order of the
Holy Trinity ....... 152

LII I. How Brother John of Alvernia, as he was saying

Mass, fell down as one dead . . . -153

OF THE MOST HOLY STIGMATA OF S. FRANCIS
AND REFLECTIONS THEREON

Of the first reflection on the most holy Stigmata . .159
Of the second reflection on the most holy Stigmata . . 168
Of the third reflection on the most holy Stigmata .178

Of the fourth reflection on the most holy Stigmata . . 189
How Jerome touched and saw the most holy Stigmata of

S. Francis, wherein at first he disbelieved . . . 205
Of the day and of the year of the death of S. Francis . 205

Of the canonisation of S. Francis 206

Of the fifth and last reflection on the most holy Stig-
mata . . 206

How a holy brother reading the legend of S. Francis
in the Chapter on the most holy Stigmata and on
the secret words, which the Seraph spake unto S.
Francis when he appeared unto him, prayed to God
so much that S. Francis revealed them unto him . 209
How S. Francis, being dead, appeared unto Brother John

of Alvernia, as he was at prayer . . . . .212
Of a holy brother that saw a wondrous vision of one of

his companions that was dead . . . .214

How a noble knight, devoted to S. Francis, was certified

of the death and the holy Stigmata of S, Francis . 217
How Pope Gregory IX., doubting of the Stigmata of S.

Francis, was ccriiiied thereof . . . . .219

CONTENTS XXV

THE LIFE OF BROTHER JUNIPER

CHAP. PAGE

I. How Brother Juniper cut off the foot of a pig,

merely to give it to a sick man . . . .221
II. An instance of the great power of Brother Juniper

over the devil ...... 225

III. How, by the device of the devil, Brother Juniper

was condemned to the gibbet .... 226

IV. How Brother Juniper gave to the poor whatsoever

he could, for the love of God .... 230
V. How Brother Juniper cut off certain bells from the

altar and gave them away for the love of God . 231
VI. How Brother Juniper kept silence for six months . 234
VII. An example of how to resist the temptations of

the flesh 235

VIII. How Brother Juniper abased himself for the glory

of God 236

IX. How Brother Juniper played see-saw to abase

himself ........ 237

X. How Brother Juniper once cooked a fortnight's

food for the brethren ...... 238

XI. How Brother Juniper went on a time to Assisi for

his own confusion ...... 240

XII. How Brother Juniper was rapt in ecstasy while

celebrating the Mass 241

XIII. Of the sorrow that Brother Juniper felt at the death

of his companion, Brother Amazialbene . . 242

XIV. Of the hand that Brother Juniper saw in the air . 243
XV. An example of Brother Leo, how S. Francis bade

him wash the stone ...... 243

THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED BROTHER GILES,
THE COMPANION OF S. FRANCIS

I. How Brother (Jiles and three companions were

received into the Order of the Minors. . . 245
I. How Brother (iiles went to S. James the Great . 248

XXVI

CONTENTS

III. After what fashion Brother Giles led his life when

he went to the Holy Sepulchre ....
How Brother Giles praised obedience more than

prayer

How Brother Giles lived by the labour of his hands
How Brother Giles was miraculously cared for in

a time of great need, when by reason of the deep

snow he could not go to beg alms
Of the day of the death of the holy Brother Giles
Vni. How a holy man, being at prayer, saw the soul of

Brother Giles pass into life eternal
How by the merits of Brother Giles, the soul of a

friend of a certain Preaching Brother was set

free from the pains of Purgatory ....
How God had given graces unto Brother Giles,

and of the year of his death ....

IV.

V.
VI.

VII.

IX.

X.

249

250
251

253
256

256

257

258

THE CHAPTERS OF SUNDRY GOODLY SAYINGS
AND OF THE TEACHING OF BROTHER GILES

I. Of vices and virtues ....

II. Of Faith

III. Of holy humihty

IV. Of the holy fear of God

V. Of holy patience

VI. Of slothfulness

VII. Of contempt of the world

VI IL Of holy chastity

IX. Of temptations

X. Of holy penitence

XI. Of holy prayer

XII. Of holy spiritual prudence .

XIII. Of profitable and unprofitable knowledge

XIV. Of good and evil speaking .

XV. Of good perseverance ....
XVI. Of the true religious life
XVII. Of holy obedience ....

XVIII. Of the remembrance of death

259
261
263
266
267
272
276
277

279
284
285
291

294
296

300
0^'

CONTENTS xxvii

FROM THE MANUSCRIPT IN THE BIBLIO-
THECA ANGELICA

CHAP. PAGE

I. How the glorious Francis got the Church of S.

Mary of the Angels without Assisi . . . 304
II. How S. Francis had a vision in S. Mary of the

Angels 307

III. How God revealed unto S. Francis that he should
go to Pope Honorius the Third for the in-
dulgence 309

FROM A MANUSCRIPT IN FLORENCE

I. How S. Francis appeared unto Brother Leo . 313
II. How Brother Leo saw a terrible vision in a dream 314

THE FAREWELL OF S. FRANCIS AT HIS PART-
ING FROM THE MOUNT OF ALVERNIA . 316

ILLUSTRATIONS

COLOURED PLATES

The Obedience {after the fresco by Giotto
in the Lower Church of S. Francesco^
Assisi) .... [cf. p. 300] Frontispiece

The Men of Bologna mock Brother Ber- ^'^^^

NARD IN their Market-place {after
Codex Laurenziano Gaddiano cxii. : cf Pre-
face, p. vii) ..... To face 16

S. Clare and her Companions eat Bread
WITH S. Francis at Sta. Maria Degli
Angeli {after Codex Laurenziano Gaddiano
cxii. : cf. Preface, p. vii) . . . • ,, 42

S. Francis {after the painting on panel by
Gerard David in the Kaiser Friedrich
Museum, Berliii) . . . . . ,, 74

The Crucifixion, with SS. Francis, Bene-
dict, Anthony and Clare (after the
tempera panel by Tiberio d\Assisi in the
L^ower Church of S. Francesco, Assisi) . ,, 94

S. Francis with the Virgin Mary, Infant
Jesus and S. John {after the fresco by
Pietro Lorenzetti (?) in the Lower Church
of S. Francesco at Assisi) . . . . ,, 125

XXX ILLUSTRATIONS

S. Francis {after the tempera panel by Filip- ^^°=

pifio Lippi^ 7101V in the Naliinial Gallery^
London) ...... To face 213

S. Francis Preaches before Pope Hono-
Rius III. {after the fresco by Giotto (?) in
the Upper Chitrch of S. Francesco at Assisi) „ 309

HALF-TONE PLATES

Brother Bernard watches S. Francis at
Prayer (fro?n Historiariim Seraphicae
Religionis Libri Tres^ a F. Petro Rodulphio
Tossinianensi^ Venice^ 1586) . . ,, 3

The First Five Companions of S. Francis

{School of Giotto) . . . . . ,, 29

S. Francis Preaching to the Birds, and
THE Vision of Pope Innocent III.
{from a fourtee^ith century MS. of the
Vulgate^ Add. MS. 11843, in the British
Museum) .......,, 47

The Meeting of S. Francis and S. Domenic

{B, Gozzoli) ....... 50

S. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio {Sas-
setta) . . . . . . • ,, 61

S. Francis before the Soldan {Sassetta) . „ 68

S. Francis Preaching {from B.M. Royal
MS. 19, B. xvii., FoL 277 b. — La Legende
des Sains d'oree : que frere Jehan de Vignay
translata de Latin en Francois : Escripte
Van 1382) ......,, 84

S. Francis {Donatello) . . . . . ,, 105

S. Antony of Padua {Donatello) . . .,,111

ILLUSTRATIONS xxxi

The Virgin Mary appearing unto a Sick ^^^^

Brother Minor {after Codex Laurenziajio
Gaddiano cxii. : cf. Preface^ p. vii) . To face 172

The Cell in which Brother John of
Alvernia Lived on Monte Alvernia
{from Descrizione del Sacro Monte della
Vernia, by Lino Moro fii Q 1612). Plate I) ,, 141

S. Francis on His Death-bed {B. da Maiano) „ 147

The Birds welcoming S. Francis to Monte
Alvernia {from Descrizione del Sacro
Mo7ite della Vernia^ by Lino Moroni
(? 1612). Plate C) ,,167

Brother Leo kneeling before S. Francis
in Ecstasy {after Codex Laitrenziano
Gaddiano cxii. : cf Preface^ p. vii) . . ,, 135

S. Francis Assaulted by the Devil, on
Monte Alvernia {from Descrizione del
Sacro Monte della Vernia, by Lino Moroni
(? 1612). Plate N) . . . . „ 176

The Marriage of S. Francis to Poverty

{Sassetta) . . . . . . ,, 182

This picture is sometimes held to represent the
"Meeting of S. P'rancis with Obedience, Poverty
and Chastity."

S. Francis receives the Stigmata {after
Codex Laurenziano Gaddiano cxii. : p. viiy
Laurentian Library^ Florence) . . . „ 189

S. Francis receives the Stigmata (/. van

Eyck) . . . . . . . „ 197

The Death of S. Francis {Sassella) . . „ 204

S. Francis appears in a Dream to Pope

Gregory IX. {Giotto (?)) . . . „ 219

xxxii ILLUSTRATIONS

S. Francis, with S. Bernard kneeling ^^^^

BEHIND Him {Fra Angelico) . . To face 246

Brothers Giles and Illuminato (i>. Gozzoii) „ 256

Franciscan Friars chanting in the Choir
{from B.M. Cotton^ MS.^ Doni, xvii.^ Fol.
120 b. — a Psalier probably illuminated for
King Richard IL) ,,288

S. Francis appears to the Chapter at

Arles {Giotto) .....,, 298

Four-colour engravings by Lowy of Vienna and G. W.
Jones, Ltd., printed by H. Stone & Son, Ltd. :
those facing pps. 16 and 42 engraved and printed
by E. Evans, Ltd.

THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF
S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

CHAPTER I

In the name of our Lord Jesu Christ the Crucified^ and of His
Virgin Mother Mary. In this book are found certain
little Flowers^ Miracles and devout ensamples of the glori-
ous poor little one of Christy S. Francis^ and of certain his
holy Companions^ to the praise of Jesu Christ, Amen

At the first, needs must we consider how the glori-
ous S. Francis in all the acts of his life was con-
formed unto Christ the blessed one : how even as
Christ in the beginning of His preaching chose out
twelve Apostles, to contemn all earthly things, to
follow Him in poverty and other virtues ; so S.
Francis in the beginning chose out for the found-
ing of the Order twelve companions, possessors of
the deepest poverty. And even as one of the
tv/elve Apostles of Christ, rejected of God, finally
hanged himself by the neck ; even so one of the
twelve companions of S. Francis, whose name was
John of the Chapel, fell away and finally hanged
himself by the neck. And unto the elect this is a
great ensample and matter for humility and fear ;
bearing in mind that no man is certain to persevere

A

2 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

unto the end in the grace of God. And even as
these holy Apostles were altogether wonderful in
sanctity and humility and full of the Holy Spirit,
so these most holy companions of S. Francis were
men of such sanctity, that, from the time of the
Apostles until now, the world never saw men so
marvellous and so saintly ; in that one of them
was caught up into the third heaven, like S. Paul,
and this was Brother Giles ; one of them, to wit
Brother Philip Lungo, was touched on the lips by
an angel with a coal of fire, as was Isaiah the pro-
phet : one of them, and he was Brother Silvester,
spake with God, as one friend doth with another,
even as Moses did : one through subtlety of intel-
lect flew up even unto the light of the Divine
Wisdom, like the eagle, to wit John the Evangelist,
and this was the most humble Brother Bernard, who
set forth clearly the deep things of Holy Writ :
one of them was sanctified of God and canonised
in heaven, being yet alive in the world, and he
was Brother Ruffino, a gentleman of Assisi : and
thuswise were they all favoured with singular
marks of sanctity, as is set forth hereafter.

CHAPTER II

Of Brother Bernard of OuintavalU\ first companion
of S. Francis

The first companion of S. Francis was Brother Ber-
nard of Assisi, who wascon verted in thiswise : While
S. Francis was still in the secular habit, albeit he had
already despised the world, and went about being

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 3

wholly held in scorn of men, mortifying his flesh by
penances, in so much that by many he was thought
foolish and was mocked at as a mad fellow, and was
driven away with stones and foul abuse by his kins-
folk andby strangers, yet borehimselfpatientlyamid
all manner of ignominy and reproach, as though he
were deaf and dumb : Bernard of Assisi, the which
was of the noblest, and richest, and wisest in the
city, began wisely to take heed unto S. Francis, how
exceeding strong his contempt of the world, how
great his patience in the midst of wrongs, so that
albeit for a two years' space thus evil intreated of all
persons and despised, he ever seemed the more con-
stant ; then he began to ponder and to say within
himself: " In no wise can it be that this brother
hath not abundant grace from God ; " so he called
him one evening to sup and lodge with him : and
S. Francis consented thereto and supped with him
and lodged. And thereat Bernard set it in his
heart to watch his sanctity : wherefore he let make
ready for him a bed in his own proper chamber,
in the which at night-time ever a lamp did burn.
And S. Francis, for to hide his sanctity, when he
was come into the chamber, incontinent did throw
himself upon the bed and made as though he slept :
and likewise Bernard after some short space set
himself to lie down and fell to snoring loudly, in
fashion as though he slept right soundly. Whereby
S. Francis, thinking truly that Bernard was asleep,
in his first sleep rose up from his bed and set
himself to pray, lifting up his hands and eyes unto
heaven, and with exceeding great devotion and fer-
vour said : " My God, my God." And thus saying

4 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

and sorely weeping he abode till morning,always re-
peating : '* My God, my God," and naught beside ;
and this S. Francis said, while musing on and mar-
velling at the excellence of the divine Majesty,
which deigned to stoop down to a perishing world
and through His poor little Francis purposed to
bring a remedy for the salvation of his soul and
the souls of others. Therefore illumined by the
Holy Spirit, or the spirit of prophecy, foreseeing
what great things God would do through him
and his Order, and minding him of his own
insufficiency and little worth, he cried unto God
and besought Him that by His pity and almighty
power, without the which the weakness of man
may naught avail, He would supply his lack, aid
and fulfil what of itself was nothing worth. Ber-
nard seeing, by the light of the lamp, the most de-
vout acts of S. Francis, and devoutly pondering in
his mind the words that he spake, was touched and
inspired by the Holy Spirit to change his life ; in
the morning therefore he called S. Francis and thus
bespake him : " Brother Francis, I am wholly pur-
posed in my heart to leave the world and follow
thee in whatsoever thou mayest bid me." Hearing
this, S. Francis rejoiced in spirit, and said : *' Ber-
nard, this that thou sayest is a task so great and
difficult, that thereof must we seek counsel of our
Lord Jesu Christ, and beseech Him that He be
pleased to show us His will therein, and teach us
how we may bring it to pass : wherefore let us go
together to the bishop's house, wherein is a good
priest, and let say the Mass ; then let us continue
in prayer until Tierce, beseeching God that in thrice

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 5

opening of the missal He may reveal to us the path
it is His will we shouldelect." Bernardmade answer
that this pleased him rightwell. So fared theyforth
and came to the bishop's house : and after they had
heard the Mass, and continued praying until Tierce,
the priest at the bidding of S. Francis took the
missal, and making the sign of the most holy Cross,
opened it thrice in the name of our Lord Jesu
Christ : and at the first opening appeared the
words that Christ spake in the Gospel to the young
man that asked concerning the way of perfection :
" If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou
hast, and give to the poor and follow me ; " at
the second opening appeared those words that
Christ spake unto the Apostles when He sent
them forth to preach: ''Take nothing for your
journey, nor staves, nor scrip, nor bread, nor
money ; " wishing thereby to teach them that for
their daily bread they should set all their hopes on
God and fix their mind wholly on the preaching
of the holy Gospel ; at the third opening of the
missal appeared those words that Christ spake :
" If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
Then spake S. Francis unto Bernard ; " Behold
the counsel that Christ giveth us : come then
and fulfil that which thou hast heard : and blessed
be our Lord Jesu Christ, who hath deigned to show
forth His own life in the holy Gospel." This heard,
Bernard went out and sold all that he had, and he
was very rich ; and with great joy he gave all his
possessions to widows, to orphans, to prisoners, to
monasteries and to hospices, and pilgrims ; and inali

6 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

things S. Francis helped him faithfully and wisely.
And a certain man whose name was Silvester seeing
that S. Francis gave and let give so much money to
the poor, being moved by greed, said to S. Francis :
" Thou hast not paid me in full for the stones thou
didst buy of me for to rebuild the church ; therefore
pay me now that thou hast money." Therewith S.
Francis, marvelling at his greed and willing not to
stir up strife with him, as a true foUov/er of the holy
Gospel, put his hands into the bosom of Bernard ;
and filled his hands with money, which he put into
the bosom of Silvester, saying that if he wished for
more, more would he give him. Silvester being
content with these, went away, and gat him to
his house : but in the evening bethinking him of
what he had done throughout the day, and chiding
himself for his greed, pondering on the fervour
of Bernard and the sanctity of S. Francis, he had
from God, on the night following and two other
nights, a vision on this wise, that from the mouth
of S. Francis sprang a cross of gold, of which the
top reached unto heaven, and the arms stretched
from the East even unto the West. By reason of
this vision, he gave away all that he had for the
love of God, and became a brother minor, and
lived in the Order in such sanctity and grace
that he spake with God, as doth one friend with
another, whereof S. Francis oft-times was witness;
the which will be set forth hereafter. Bernard in
like manner had such grace of God that oftentimes
in contemplation was he caught up to God : and
S. Francis said of him, that he was worthy of all
reverence, and that it was he that had founded

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 7

this Order ; inasmuch as he was the first to leave
the world, keeping back naught for himself, but
giving all unto the poor of Christ, and, when he
took on him the Gospel poverty, offering himself
naked in the arms of the Crucified ; bless we His
name, in secula saeculorum. Amen.

CHAPTER III

How for an evil thought that S. Francis had against Brother
Bernard^ he bade the said Brother Bernard tread three
times with his feet upon his mouth and on his throat

The most devout servant of the Crucified, S. Fran-
cis, through the rigour of his penances and cease-
less tears, had grown wellnigh blind, and could see
but little. On a time amongst others he hied him
from the place where he was, and went to a place
where Brother Bernard was, for to speak with him
of things divine : and coming to the place, he found
that he was at prayer in the wood, all lifted up and
joined to God. Therewith went S. Francis into the
wood and called him. "Come," quoth he, *'and
speak unto this blind man ; " and Brother Bernard
made him no answer ; in that being a man of deep
contemplation, his mind was fixed on things above
and lifted up to God : but seeing that he had grace
exceeding rare to speak of God, whereof S. Francis
had oftentimes been witness, he desired the more to
hold parley with him. So biding some short space,
he called the second and the third time after the
same fashion ; but neither time did Brother Bernard
hear him, and therefore made him no answer, nor

8 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

came unto him ; so that S. Francis departed, a little
disconsolate and marvelling within himself, and
complaining for that Bernard, being called three
times, had not come to him. Departing with this
thought, S. Francis, when he was gone a little space,
said to his companion : " Wait here for me : '' and
he went aside into a solitary place hard by and cast
himself down in prayer, beseeching God that He
would make known unto him wherefore Brother
Bernard had made him no answer ; and as he prayed,
there came a voice from God, which said thus:
" O poor little man, wherefore art thou troubled ?
Should a man leave God for a creature ? Brother
Bernard, when thou calledst him, was joined unto
Me ; and could not come to thee thereby nor answer
thee ; wherefore marvel not that he could not speak
to thee ; seeing that he was so much lifted out of
himself that of thy words he heard not one/' Being
thus answered of God, S. Francis straightway with
great haste returned unto Brother Bernard, humbly
to accuse himself of the thought that he had had
concerning him. And beholding him coming to- É

wards him, Brother Bernard went to meet him and
threw himself at his feet : then S. Francis let lift
him up and told him with great humility the
thought and trouble of mind that he had had
concerning him, and how God had answered him
therein ; wherefore he thuswise made an end : " I
command thee by holy obedience that thou do
whatever I bid thee." Brother Bernard, fearing that
S. Francis might o'erstep the bounds, as was his
wont, in what he bade him do, fain would have
escaped this obedience, if so he might be without

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 9

fault ; and therefore thus replied : *' Ready am I
to work out thy obedience, if thou promise me to
do whatsoever I shall bid thee ; " and S. Francis
promising, Brother Bernard said : **Now tell me,
father, what is thy will that I should do." Then
spake S. Francis : " I command thee by holy obedi-
ence, that for punishment of my presumption and
the heat within my heart, when now I throw me on
the ground upon my back, thou set one foot upon
my throat, and the other on my mouth, and thus-
wise three times pass over me from side to side, cry-
ing shame upon me and contempt, and chief of all
bespeak me thus : ' ClodpoU, lie there, thou spawn
of Peter Bernardoni, whence cometh such great
pride to thee, that art a thing most vile ? ' " Hear-
ing the which Brother Bernard, albeit right grievous
to him was it in the doing, yet for holy obedience,
with what courtesy as best he might, he fulfilled
the bidding of S. Francis ; and this done, S. Francis
said : *' Now do thou command me whatever thou
wilt that I should do ; since I have promised thee
obedience." Said Brother Bernard : " I command
thee by holy obedience that, whensoe'er we be to-
gether, thou rebuke and correct me harshly for my
faults." Whereat S. Francis made mighty marvel :
for that Brother Bernard was of such great sanctity
that he held him in high reverence, and deemed him
not blameworthy in any thing at all, and therefore
from that time forth S. Francis took heed to shun
his fellowship, by reason of the said obedience, so
that no word of correction might ever fall on one
whom he knew to be of such great holiness, but
when he wished to see him or hear him speak of

IO THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

God, with what speed he might he left him again
and was away. Right edifying in very sooth it
was to see with what great love and reverence and
humbleness S. Francis, the father, bore him and
spake with Brother Bernard, his first-born son.
To the laud and glory of Jesu Christ and the poor
little one, S. Francis. Amen.

CHAPTER IV

How the angel of God proposed a question unto Brother EliaSy
guardian of a House in the valley of Spoleto ^ and because
Brother Elias answered him proudly^ departed and zuent
along the road to S, James's^ where he found Brother
Bernard and told him this story

At the beginning and commencement of the Order,
when as yet there were few brothers and the Houses
had not been taken into possession, S. Francis for
his devotion went to S. James's of Galicia, and took
with him certain of the brothers, among whom one
was Brother Bernard ; and as they went thus to-
gether on the way, he found in a certain place a poor
sick man, and having compassion upon him, said to
Brother Bernard : '' Little brother, I will that thou
stay here to tend on this sick man ; " and Brother
Bernard humbly bowing the knee and bending the
head received the obedience of the holy father, and
stayed in that place ; and S. Francis with the other
companions went on to S. James's. Having won
thither, while he was spending the night in prayer
in the church of S. James, it was revealed by God
unto S. Francis, that it behoved him to take posses-
sion of many places throughout the world, because

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI ii

his Order must needs grow and increase into a vast
multitude of brothers : so upon this revelation,
S. Francis began to take possession of places in all
those countries. And when S. Francis was return-
ing by the same way, he found Brother Bernard and
the sick man, with whom he had left him, fully re-
stored to health; wherefore S. Francis the next year
gave leave unto Brother Bernard to go to S.James's.
So S. Francis returned to the valley of Spoleto and
abode in a solitary place, he and Brother Masseo
and Brother Elias and others ; and they all took
right good heed not to let or hinder S. Francis from
prayer ; and this did they for the great reverence
that they bore him, and because they knew that God
revealed unto him wondrous high matters in his
prayers. Now it befell on a day that, S. Francis
being in prayer in a wood, a fair youth, arrayed
for a journey, came to the door of the House, and
knocked with such haste and violence and for so
long a space that the brothers greatly marvelled at
such unwonted knocking. Went Brother Masseo,
and oped the door, and said to the youth: "Whence
art thou come, little son, for it seemeth thou wast
never here before, in such unwonted fashion hast
thou knocked p " The youth replied : " And how
then should one knock ì " Quoth Brother Masseo :
** Give three knocks, one a brief space after the
other ; then wait so long that the brother may have
said the Paternoster and come unto thee ; and if in
this space he does not come, knock once again."
The youth replied : ''I am in great haste and there-
fore I knock so loudly because I have a longjourney
to make, and am come here to speak with Brother

12 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

Francis ; but he is now wrapt in contemplation in
the wood, wherefore I wish not to disturb him ; but
go, tell Brother Elias that I would fain ask him a
question, for I hear that he is very wise." Then
went Brother Masseo and told Brother Elias that
he should go to the youth : but he waxed wroth
thereat and would not go. Wherefore Brother
Masseo knew not what to do nor what to answer
him ; in that if he said, Brother Elias cannot come,
it were a lie ; and should he tell how he was wroth
and would not come, he feared to set before him an
evil ensample. When Brother Masseo was so long
delaying to return, the young man knocked again as
at the first, and a short while after Brother Masseo
returned to the door and said unto the youth :
" Thou hast taken no heed unto my instruction
in the matter of knocking/' Replied the youth :
^^Brother Elias will not come unto me : but go thou
and tell Brother Francis that I am come to speak
with him ; but since I would fain not hinder him
from prayer, tell him to send unto me Brother
Elias." Then Brother Masseo got him to S.
Francis, who was praying in the wood with his face
uplifted towards heaven, and set forth to him the
message of the youth and the answer of Brother
Elias : now that youth was an angel of God in the
form of a man. Therewith S. Francis, nor moving
from his place nor bending down his head, spake
to Brother Masseo : " Go thou and tell Brother
Elias for obedience sake to go forthwith unto that
youth." Brother Elias receiving the obedience of
S. Francis, went to the door much disquieted, and
opened it with great noise and violence, and said

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 13

to the youth : ** What is thy will ? " Replied the
youth : '* Take heed, brother, that thou be not
wroth, as thou dost seem to be ; for anger weigheth
down the soul and suffereth it not to see the truth."
Said Brother Elias : '' Tell me what thing thou wilt
of me." Replied the youth : "I ask thee if it be •
lawful for the followers of the Holy Gospel to eat
that which is set before them even as Christ bade
His disciples; and I ask thee moreover if it be lawful
for any man to put forward aught contrary to the
liberty of the Gospel." Brother Elias made answer
haughtily : '' I know full well, but will not answer
thee, so go thy ways." Quoth the youth: "Ishould
know better to answer this question than canst
thou." Then in a fury and great rage Brother
Elias shut to the door and was away. Anon be-
gan he to muse upon the question aforesaid and
doubt within himself, and knew not how to resolve
it ; for he was vicar of the Order and had com-
manded and made an ordinance out and beyond
the Gospel and beyond the Rule of S. Francis, to
wit, that no brother in the Order should eat flesh ;
so that the said question was expressly aimed at
him. Wherefore, not knowing how to clear him-
self, and thinking on the modesty of the youth,
and how he had said that he should know better
how to answer that question than could he, Brother
Elias went back again to the door and opened it
for to ask the youth touching the question afore-
said ; but he was already away, in that the pride
of Brother Elias was not worthy to hold converse
with the angel. This done, S. Francis, to whom
the whole had been revealed by God, came back

14 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

from out the wood, and sharply with loud voice
rebuked Brother Elias saying : " You do ill, proud
Brother Elias, to drive away the holy angels that
come to teach us. I tell thee that much I fear lest
thy pride will make thee end thy days outside the
Order/' On that same day, in the very hour
that the angel went away, appeared he in the self-
same form to Brother Bernard, who was on his
way back from S. James's, and had won the bank
of a great river ; and saluted him in his own tongue,
saying : " God give thee peace, good brother ; "
and good Brother Bernard marvelled exceedingly,
and noting the beauty of the youth and the lan-
guage of his native land, together with his salu-
tation of peace and his joyful countenance, he
asked: "Whence art thou come, good youth?"
Replied the angel : '* I come from the place where
S. Francis dwells, and went there to have speech
with him ; and this I could not attain, for that
he was in the wood contemplating things divine,
and I wished not to disturb him. And in that
place dwell Brother Masseo and Brother Giles and
Brother Elias ; and Brother Masseo taught me to
knock at the door as the brothers use ; but
Brother Elias, because he would not answer the
question that I set him, went away afterwards, and
would fain have heard me and seen me, but he
could not." After these words, said the angel to
Brother Bernard : " Wherefore dost thou not cross
over ? " Brother Bernard made answer : *' Because
I fear the danger for the depth of the waters that I
see." Quoth the angel : '* Let us cross over to-
gether, and be not doubting ; " and he took his

J

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 15

hand and in the twinkling of an eye set him on
the other side of the stream. Then Brother Ber-
nard knew that he was the angel of God,, and with
great reverence and joy cried in a loud voice : " O
blessed angel of God, tell me thy name." Replied
the angel : " Wherefore askest thou my name,
the which is Wonderful ? " And this said, the
angel vanished out of sight and left Brother Ber-
nard much comforted, in such sort that all that way
he journeyed with great joy ; and bethought him
of the day and hour that the angel had appeared
to him. And coming to the place where S. Francis
was with the companions aforesaid, he set forth
unto them the whole matter in order ; and they
knew of a surety that the self-same angel on that
day and on that hour had appeared unto them
and unto him.

CHAPTER V

Hgw the holy Brother Bernard of Assisi was sent by
S. Francis to Bologna and there founded a Mouse

Seeing that S. Francis and his companions were
called of God and elect to bear in their hearts and
in their deeds and preach with their tongues the
cross of Christ, they seemed to be and were in very
sooth men crucified, so by reason of their habit as
of their austere life and deeds and works : and
therefore they desired the more to suffer shame
and contumely for the love of Christ, rather than
honour of the world and reverence and praise of
men : in insults they rejoiced and at honours they
grew sad : and so they passed through the world

1 6 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

as strangers and pilgrims, bearing with them naught
save Jesu Christ Crucified. And sith they were
true branches of the true vine, that is Christ, they
brought forth great and good fruit of souls, that
they won for God. It happened in the beginning
of the Order that S. Francis sent Brother Bernard
to Bologna to the end that he might there, accord-
ing to the grace that God had given him, bring
forth fruit to God ; and Brother Bernard making
the sign of the most holy cross, for holy obedience
departed and came unto Bologna. And the
children seeing him in poor and threadbare habit,
despitefully intreated and made much mock of
him, as though he were a fool : but Brother Ber-
nard with patience and with joy bore all things for
the love of Christ ; nay, of set purpose that he
might the more be evilly intreated, betook him to
the market-place of the city : whereby, he sitting
there, many children and men came together about
him, and some from behind, and others before,
plucked at his hood ; some pelted him with dust
and some with stones ; some pushed him this way
and others that : and Brother Bernard continuing
always after the same fashion and with the same
patience, with a joyful countenance, neither com-
plained nor changed at all, and for the space of
many days returned to the same place, but for to
suffer the like usage. And sith patience is a work
of perfection and proof of virtue, a learned doctor
of the law, beholding and musing on the great
constancy and virtue of Brother Bernard, how for
so many days nor taunt nor contumely could e*er
disquiet him, saidthus within himself: ''Of a surety

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S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 17

this needs must be a holy man ; " and coming
near unto him, he asked : " Who art thou ?
and wherefore art thou come hither ? " And
Brother Bernard for reply put his hand into his
bosom and drew forth the Rule of S. Francis, and
gave it him that he might read, and when he had
read it, musing on its most lofty state of perfec-
tion, with exceeding great marvel and amazement
he turned him unto his companions and said : '* Of
a truth this is the highest state of religion where-
of I have ever heard : wherefore this man and his
companions are the holiest men in this world, and
whoso does him wrong committeth a most grievous
sin ; most highly should we honour him, seeing
that he is a true friend of God." And he said
to Brother Bernard : " If 'tis your wish to found a
House, wherein you may serve God conveniently,
with right good will, for the salvation of my soul,
will I give it you." Replied Brother Bernard :
" Good sir, methinks our Lord Jesu Christ hath
put this thought within your heart ; and therefore
for the honour of Christ I willingly accept your
proffered gift." Then with great joy and love
the said judge took Brother Bernard to his house ;
and gave him anon the promised House and made
it all ready and at his own charges furnished it :
and from that time forth became the father and
special defender of Brother Bernard and his com-
panions. And Brother Bernard, through his holy
life, began to be much honoured of the people, in
such sort that whoso might touch and see him,
deemed himself blessed thereby ; but he, like a true
disciple of Christ and the humble Francis, fearing

B

1 8 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

that the honour of the world might hinder the
peace and salvation of his soul, on a day departed
and returned unto S. Francis and spake thus unto
him : " Father, the House is founded in the city of
Bologna : send brothers thither to maintain it and
abide therein : since I have no more profit therein,
nay, rather for the too great honour done to me I
fear me I have lost e'en more than I have gained."
Thereat S. Francis, learning all things in order,
how God had worked through Brother Bernard,
gave thanks to God, who thuswise was beginning
to enlarge the poor little disciples of the Cross :
and anon he sent of his companions to Bologna
and into Lombardy, the which founded many
Houses in diverse places.

CHAPTER VI

How S. Francis blessed the holy Brother Bernard and left
him as his vicar ^ when he came to pass away from this
life

Brother Bernard was of such sanctity that
S. Francis held him in high reverence, and praised
him oftentimes. It happened on a day while S.
Francis was continuing devoutly in prayer, that it
was revealed to him by God that Brother Bernard
under leave of God must needs endure full many
and sharp assaults of the demons : wherefore
S. Francis having great compassion on the said
Brother Bernard, whom he loved as his little son,
prayed many days with tears, beseeching God for

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 19

him and committing him unto Jesu Christ, that
he might give him the victory over the demon.
And S. Francis thus devoutly praying, on a day
God answered him : '' Francis, fear not ; for all
the temptations wherewith Brother Bernard must
needs be assailed, are permitted him of God, for-
the exercise of virtue and a crown of merit ; and
in the end will he have the victory over all his
enemies, for that he is one of the great ones of the
kingdom of heaven." At the which reply S. Francis
was exceeding glad and gave thanks unto God : and
from that hour forth he ever bore him greater love
and reverence. And this was shown forth not only
in his life, but also at his death. For S. Francis
coming near unto death and having, like the holy
patriarch Jacob, his devoted sons standing round
about him sorrowing and weeping at the departure
of so lovable a father, asked : " Where is my first-
born Ì Come to me, my little son, that my soul
may bless thee before I die." Then Brother
Bernard spake secretly unto Brother Elias, who
was vicar of the Order : *' Go, father, to the right
hand of the saint, that he may bless thee." And
Brother Elias setting himself at his right hand, S.
Francis, who had lost his sight by reason of his too
much weeping, laid his right hand on the head of
Brother Elias, and said : " This is not the head of
my first-born Brother Bernard." Then Brother
Bernard went to him on his left hand, and S.
Francis then put his arms in the shape of a cross
and laid the right hand on the head of Brother
Bernard and the left on the head of the said
Brother Elias,and spakethus untoBrother Bernard:

20 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

" May God the Father of our Lord Jesu Christ
bless thee with all spiritual and celestial blessings
in Christ. Since thou art the first-born, elect in
this holy Order to give an ensample of the gospel
life, to follow Christ in gospel poverty ; for not
only didst thou give and distribute to the poor
whatever was thine wholly and freely for the love
of Christ, but offered thyself also unto God in this
Order for a sacrifice of sweetness ; blessed be thou
therefore of our Lord Jesu Christ and of me His
poor little servant, with everlasting benedictions,
going and staying, waking and sleeping, living and
dying ; let whoso blesseth thee be filled with bless-
ings, whoso curseth thee go not free from punish-
ment. Be thou the chief among thy brethren,
and to thy command let all the brothers yield
obedience : have thou license to receive into this
Order whomsoever thou wilt, and let no brother
have lordship over thee, and be thou free to go
and stay where'er it pleaseth thee.'' And after the
deathof S. Francis, the brothers loved and honoured
Brother Bernard as a father worthy of all reverence,
and when he drew nigh unto death there came to
him many brothers from diverse parts of the world,
among whom came that seraphic and godlike
Brother Giles ; who, looking on Brother Bernard,
said with joyfulness : " Sursum corda, Brother
Bernard, sursum corda : " and Brother Bernard
spake secretly unto a brother that he should make
ready for Brother Giles a place well fitted for con-
templation : and so was it done. Being at the
last hour of death, Brother Bernard let lift him
up, and spake unto the brothers that were before

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 21

him, saying : '' O brothers most dear, I desire not
to speak to you many words : but ye should bear
in mind that the life of Religion that I have had,
ye have still now, and this that now I have, ye too
shall have, and this I find within my soul, that
for a thousand worlds the like of this I would not.
have served any other Lord than our Lord Jesu
Christ : and for every fault I have committed I
do accuse myself and confess my guilt unto my
Saviour Jesu and to you. I pray you, my brothers
most dear, that ye love one another ; " and after
these words and other good admonishments, he
laid him down upon his bed, and his face grew
bright and joyful beyond measure, so that all the
brothers marvelled exceedingly, and in that joyful-
ness his most holy soul, crowned with glory,
passed from this present life into the blessed life
of the angels.

CHAPTER VII

How S. Francis passed a Lent in an island in the lake of
Perugia^ where he fasted forty days and forty nights^
and ate no more than one half loaf

As the true servant of Christ, S. Francis, was in
certain points as it were another Christ, given to
the world for the salvation of men, it was the will
of God the Father to make him in many of his acts
conformed and like unto His own dear son Jesu
Christ ; even as was shown forth in the venerable
company of the twelve companions, and in the
wondrous mystery of the holy stigmata, and in the

I

22 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

unbroken fast during the holy Lent, which he kept
in this manner. It befell on a time that S. Francis,
on the day of carnival, being hard by the lake
of Perugia in the house of one of his devoted
followers, with whom he had lodged the night,
was inspired of God that he should go and keep
that Lent on an island in the lake ; wherefore S.
Francis besought this devoted follower of his, that,
for the love of Christ, he would carry him across
in his little boat to an island on the lake, wherein
no man dwelt, and that so would he do upon the
night of Ash Wednesday, so that none might be
ware of it ; so he for love of the great devotion
that he had unto S. Francis with diligence fulfilled
his request and carried him across to the island
aforesaid, and S. Francis took with him naught save
two small loaves. And being come unto the island,
and his friend parting himself to go back home,
S. Francis besought him tenderly that to no man
would he reveal in what guise he there abode, and
that save upon Holy Thursday he would not come
to him ; and so he was away. And S. Francis re-
mained alone : and sith there was no dwelling-place
whereto he might betake him, he entered into a
close thicket which many a thorny bush and shrub
had fashioned like a cave or little hut : and in this
place he gave himself up to prayer and contempla-
tion of the things of heaven. And there abode
he all the Lent, nor eating nor drinking aught
save half of one of those small loaves, even as was
found by his devoted follower on Holy Thursday,
what time that he came back to him ; who found
of the two loaves one still entire, but of the other,

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 23

half. So men believe that S. Francis took no food
from reverence for the fast of Christ the blessed
one, who fasted forty days and forty nights with-
out partaking any earthly food; but in this manner
with that half a loaf chased far the venom of vain
glory from him, and after the pattern of Christ
kept fast for forty days and forty nights; and there-
after in that place where S. Francis had wrought
such wondrous abstinence, through his merits did
God work many miracles ; for the which cause did
men begin to build houses there and dwell therein ;
and in brief space uprose a hamlet fair and great
and therewithal a House for the brothers, the which
is named the House of the Island ; and even to this
day the men and women of that hamlet feel great
reverence and devotion in the place where S.Francis
kept the aforesaid Lent.

CHAPTER VIII

How^ as S. Francis and Brother Leo were going by the way^
he set forth unto him what things were perfect joy

When AS S. Francis was going one day from
Perugia to S. Mary of the Angels with Brother
Leo in the spring tide, and the very bitter cold
grievously tormented him, he called to Brother Leo
that was going on before and said thus : " Brother
Leo, though the Brothers Minor throughout all
the world were great ensamples of sanctity and
true edifying, nathless write it down and take heed
diligently that not therein is perfect joy." And

24 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

going on a little further, S. Francis called a second
time : '* O Brother Leo, albeit the Brothers Minor
should give sight to the blind, make straight the
crooked, cast out devils, make the deaf to hear, the
lame to walk, the dumb to speak, and (greater
still) should raise them that have been dead a four
days' space, write that not herein is perfect joy/'
And going on a little, he cried aloud : *' O Brother
Leo, if the Brother Minor should know all tongues
and all sciences and all the Scriptures, so that he
could prophesy and reveal not only things to come
but also the secrets of consciences and souls, write
that not therein is perfect joy." Going on yet a
little further, S. Francis called aloud once more :
" O Brother Leo, thou little sheep of God, albeit
the Brother Minor should speak with the tongue
of an angel, and know the courses of the stars and
the virtues of herbs ; and though all the treasures
of the earth were revealed unto him and he under-
stood the virtues of birds, and of fishes, and of all
animals, and of men, and of trees, and of stones,
and of roots, and of waters, write that not therein
is perfect joy." And going on a little further,
S. Francis cried aloud : " O Brother Leo, albeit the
Brother Minor could preach so well as to turn all
the infidels to the faith of Christ, write that not
therein is perfect joy." And this manner of speech
continuing for full two miles. Brother Leo with
much marvel besought him, saying : " Father, I
pray thee in the name of God that thou tell me,
wherein is perfect joy." And S. Francis thus made
answer: '^ When we come to S. Mary of the Angels,
all soaked as we are with rain and numbed with

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 25

cold and besmirched with mud and tormented with
hunger, and knock at the door of the house ; and
the porter comes in anger and says : 'Who are ye?'
and we say : ' We be two of your brethren : ' and he
says, 'Ye be no true men; nay, ye be two rogues that
gad about deceiving the world and robbing the alms
of the poor; get ye gone:' and thereat he shuts to
the door and makes us stand without in the snow
and the rain, cold and a-hungered, till night-fall;
if therewithal we patiently endure such wrong and
such cruelty and such rebuffs without being dis-
quieted and without murmuring against him ; and
with humbleness and charity bethink us that this
porter knows us full well and that God makes him
to speak against us ; O Brother Leo, write that
herein is perfect joy. And if we be instant in
knocking and he come out full of wrath and drive
us away as importunate knaves, with insults and
buffetings, saying : ' Get ye gone hence, vilest of
thieves, begone to the alms-house, for here ye shall
find nor food nor lodging ; ' if we suffer this with
patience and with gladness and with love, O Brother
Leo, write that herein is perfect joy. And if we
still constrained by hunger and cold and night,
knock yet again and shout and with much weeping
pray him for the love of God that he will but
open and let us in ; and he yet more enraged should
say : ' These be importunate knaves, I will pay
them well as they deserve,' and should rush out
with a knotty stick and taking us by the hood,
throw us upon the ground and send us rolling in
the snow and beat us with all the knots of that
stick : if with patience and with gladness we suffer

26 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

all these things, thinking on the pains of the blessed
Christ, the which we ought to suffer for the love
of Him : O Brother Leo, write that here and herein
is perfect joy: then hear the conclusion of the
whole matter, Brother Leo : Above all graces and
gifts of the Holy Spirit, that Christ granteth to
His beloved, is to overcome oneself, and willingly
for the love of Christ endure pains and insults and
shame and want : inasmuch as in all other gifts of
God we may not glory, sith they are not ours but
God's ; whence saith the Apostle : What hast thou
that thou hast not received of God ? And if thou
hast received it of Him, wherefore boastest thou
thyself as if thou hadst it of thyself? But in the
cross of tribulation and affliction we may boast,
sith this is ours ; and therefore saith the Apostle,
I would not that I should glory save in the cross
of our Lord Jesu Christ."

CHAPTER IX

How S, Francis taught Brother Leo how to answer him ;
and hoiv he could never say aught save the contrary oj what
S. Francis wished

It befell on a time in the beginning of the Order
thatS. Francis was with Brother Leo in a place where
they had not books to say the divine office withal ;
when the hour of matins came, said S. Francis to
Brother Leo : *' Dear son, we have no breviary
wherewith to say matins ; but to the end that wc
may spend the time in praising God, I will speak

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 27

and thou shalt answer as I shall teach thee : and take
good heed that thou change not the words to other
than I shall teach thee. I shall say thus : O Brother
Francis, so many sins and evils hast thou done in
the world that thou art deserving of hell ; and thou,
Brother Leo, shalt answer : Sooth is it thou meritest
the lowest depth of hell." And Brother Leo with
dove-like simplicity replied : '' Right willingly,
father; begin, in the name of God." Then began
S. Francis to say : '' O Brother Francis, so many
sins and evils hast thou done in the world that thou
art deserving of hell." And Brother Leo made
answer : '' God will work through thee so much
of good that thou v/ilt go to paradise." Quoth S.
Francis : " Nay, say not so, Brother Leo ; but when
I shall say : Brother Francis, so many iniquities hast
thou done against God that thou art worthy to be ac-
cursed of God, do thou answer thus : In very sooth
art thou worthy to be set among the accursed
ones." And Brother Leo replied:/'Right willingly,
father." Therewith S. Francis with many tears and
sighs and beating of thebreast cried witha loud voice:
'' O my Lord of heaven and earth, I have done
againstthee so manyiniquities and so many sins that
I am altogether worthy to be accursed of Thee;"
and Brother Leo made answer: *'0 Brother Francis,
God will do so unto thee that among the blessed
shalt thou above all be blessed." And Brother
Francis marvelling that Brother Leo answered to
the contrary of what he had laid upon him, reproved
him saying: ^'Wherefore dost thou not answer even
as I teach ? I command thee by holy obedience
that thou answer as I shall teach thee. I shall say

2 8 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

thus : O Brother Francis, vile wretch, thinkest
thou that God will have mercy on thee, seeing thou
hast committed so many sins against the Father of
mercy and God of all consolation, that thou art not
worthy to find mercy ? And thou Brother Leo,
little lamb, wilt answer : In no wise art thou worthy
to find mercy." But whenas S. Francis said : '' O
Brother Francis, vile wretch " and the like. Brother
Leo made answer : *' God the Father, whose mercy
is infinitely greater than thy sin, will show thee great
mercy, and, more than this, will pour upon thee
many graces." At this reply S. Francis being
sweetly angered and patiently disquieted, said unto
Brother Leo : "And wherefore hast thou had the
boldness to do against obedience, and now so many
times hast answered to the contrary of that which
I laid upon thee ? " Replied Brother Leo right
humbly and reverently : " God knows, my father,
that each time I set it in my heart to answer
as thou hadst bid me ; but God makes me speak
as it pleaseth Him and not as it pleaseth me."
Whereat S. Francis marvelled, and said to Brother
Leo : " I pray thee most lovingly that this time
thou answer me as I have told thee." Replied
Brother Leo : ** Speak in the name of God, for of
a surety will I this time answer as thou wishest."
And S. Francis weeping said : '* O Brother Francis,
vile wretch, thinkest thou that God will have mercy
upon thee ? " Replied Brother Leo : " Nay, rather
great grace shalt thou receive of God and He shall
exalt thee and glorify thee for ever, for every one
that humbleth himself shall be exalted, and naught
other can I say since God speaketh through my

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 29

mouth." And thuswise in this humble strife,
with many tears and much spiritual consolation,
they kept watch until the day.

CHAPTER X

How Brother Masseo^ as though mocking^ said unto S. Francis
that all the world came after him : and he replied that
this was for the confusion of the world and the grace of
God

When AS S. Francis on a time abode in the House
of Portiuncula with Brother Masseo of Marignano,
a man of much sanctity, discretion and grace in
speaking of God, for the which cause S. Francis
loved him much : one day S. Francis returning
from the wood and from prayer, and being at the
entrance to the wood, the said Brother Masseo de-
sired to make proof of his humility, and stood over
against him, and as though mocking said : ^* Why
after thee ì why after thee ? why after thee ? "
Replied S. Francis : " What is this thou wouldest
say Ì " Quoth Brother Masseo : *' I say, why doth
all the world come after thee, and why is it seen
that all men long to look on thee, and hear thee,
and obey thee ? Thou art not a man comely of
form, thou art not of much wisdom, thou art not
noble of birth : whence comes it then that it is
after thee that the whole world doth run.f*" Hear-
ing this S. Francis, all overjoyed in spirit, lifting
up his face unto heaven, stood for a great while
with his mind uplifted in God ; anon returning to

30 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

himself again, he knelt him down and rendered
thanks and praises unto God : and then with great
fervour of spirit turned him to Brother Masseo
and said : " Wilt thou know why after me ? wilt
thou know why after me ? wilt thou know why
after me the whole world doth run ? This
cometh unto me from the eyes of the most high
God, which behold at all time the evil and the
good : for those most holy eyes have seen among
sinners none more vile, none more lacking, no
greater sinner than am I : wherefore to do this
marvellous work the which He purposeth to do.
He hath not found upon the earth a creature more
vile, and therefore hath He chosen me to confound
the nobleness and the greatness and the strength
and the beauty and wisdom of the world : to the
intent that men may know that all virtue and all
goodness come from Him, and not from the crea-
ture, and that no man may glory in himself; but
whoso will glory, may glory in the Lord, unto
whom is all honour and glory for ever and ever."
Then Brother Masseo, at so humble a reply uttered
with so great fervour, was afraid, and knew of a
surety that S. Francis was rooted and grounded
in humility.

CHAPTER XI

How S. Francis made Brother Masseo turn round and round
several timeSy and then went to Siena

It befell on a day when S. Francis was going by
the way with Brother Masseo, that the said Brother
Masseo was going on a little before ; and coming

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 31

to a place where three roads met whereby one
might go to Florence, to Siena, or to Arezzo,
quoth Brother Masseo : '' Father, by which way
are we to go ? " Replied S. Francis : " By that
which God shall will." Quoth Brother Masseo :
'* And how can we know the will of God ? " Re-
plied S. Francis : '* By the sign which I shall show
thee ; wherefore by the merit of holy obedience I
command thee that in the cross-way where thou
art standing now, thou turn round and round as
little children do, and cease not turning unless I
tell thee." Then Brother Masseo began to turn
him round and round, and turned round so long
that oftentimes he fell upon the ground through
giddiness of the head, the which is wont to be en-
gendered through such manner of turning ; but
sith S. Francis did not bid him stop, he forthwith
got up again, desiring faithfully to yield obedience.
At length, while he was turning round right man-
fully, S. Francis said : " Stand firm and do not
move;" and so he stood, and S. Francis asked
him : '* Towards what quarter is thy face now
turned ? " Replied Brother Masseo : " Towards
Siena." Quoth S. Francis : '' That is the way
that God would have us go." Now as they went
along this way, Brother Masseo marvelled within
himself, wherefore S. Francis had made him do
as do the children, before the worldly folk that
passed that way : howbeit for reverence sake he
dared say naught to the holy father. As they
drew nigh unto Siena, the people of the city heard
of the coming of the saint and hied them out to
meet him ; and of their devotion bore him and

32 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

his companion right to the bishop's house, in such
wise that they touched not the ground at all with
their feet. Now at that same hour certain folk of
Siena were at strife with one another, and already
two of them lay dead. S. Francis having won
there preached to them in so devout and saintly
a fashion, that he brought them one and all to
peace and close unity and concord together. For
the which cause the bishop of Siena, hearing of
the holy work that S. Francis had wrought, bade
him to his house and received him with high honour
that day, and eke the night. And the next morn
S. Francis, who with true humility sought naught
in all his works save only the glory of God, rose
up betimes with his companion, and without the
bishop's knowledge was away. Whereat the said
Brother Masseo went by the way murmuring within
himself, saying : ''What is this that this good man
hath done ? Me he made to turn round and round
like a little child, and to the bishop who hath done
him such honour, he hath said not even a word,
nor given him thanks withal ; " and to Brother
Masseo it seemed that S. Francis had borne him-
self therein without discretion. But anon by divine
inspiration coming to himself again, and chiding
himself within his heart. Brother Masseo said :
" Thou art too proud, who dost judge the works
of God, and art worthy of hell for thy undiscerning
pride ; for yesterday did Brother Francis work
such mighty works that, if the Angel of God had
wrought them, they had not been more marvellous:
wherefore, if he had bidden thee throw stones, thou
shouldst have done it and obeyed : for what he did

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 33

upon the way proceeded forth of God's own work-
ing, as was set forth by the good ending that
followed thereon ; for had he not made peace be-
tween those that were at strife with each other,
not only many bodies would have been stabbed to
death, as had indeed begun to be, but many souls,
also the devil would have dragged to hell ; where-
fore most foolish art thou and proud that mur-
murest at that which manifestly cometh forth from
out the will of God." And all these things that
Brother Masseo spake within his heart, going on
in front, were revealed of God unto S. Francis.
Wherefore S. Francis, coming close up to him,
spake thus : " Hold fast the things that now are
in thy thoughts, for they are good and useful and
inspired of God ; but thy first murmuring was
blind and vain and proud, and by the devil set
within thy mind." Thereby did Brother Masseo
clearly see that S. Francis knew the secrets of his
heart, and for a surety understood that the spirit
of divine wisdom did guide the holy father in all
his acts.

CHAPTER XII

How S. Francis laid on Brother Masseo the office of the door^
of alms- giving^ and of the kitchen : then at the prayers
of the brothers set him free of them

S. Francis, desiring to humble Brother Masseo,
to the end that he might not be lifted up to vain
glory by the many gifts and graces that God gave
him, but by virtue of humility might grow there-

c

34 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

with from virtue unto virtue, on a time when he
abode in a solitary place with those true saints, his
first companions (among the which was the said
Brother Masseo), spake on a day to Brother Masseo,
before all his companions : " O Brother Masseo,
all these thy companions have the grace of con-
templation and of prayer ; but thou hast the grace
of preaching the word of God, for the satisfying
of the people : wherefore to the end that these
may be able to give themselves up to contempla-
tion, I will that thou perform the office of the
door and of almsgiving and of the kitchen ; and
when the other brothers eat, thou shalt eat without
the door of the House ; so that whosoever shall
come to the house, thou mayst satisfy them, ere
they knock, with some good words of God ; so
that then none other need go out save thee ; and
this do for the merit of holy obedience." There-
with Brother Masseo drew back his hood and
bent his head, and humbly received that obedience,
and continued therein for many days performing
the office of the door and of alms-giving and ot
the kitchen. Whereat his companions, as men
enlightened of God, began to feel in their hearts
great remorse, considering that Brother Masseo
was a man of great perfection, even as they and
more so, and that on him was laid all the burden
of the House and not on them. For the which
cause they all were moved with one desire, and
gat them to the holy father and besought him
that it would please him to distribute among them
those offices, sith their consciences could in no
wise endure that Brother Masseo should bear the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 35

burden of such toil. Hearing this, S. Francis
yielded him unto their counsels, and granted their
desire ; and calling Brother Masseo, said unto him :
*' Brother Masseo, thy companions desire to have
share in the offices that I have given thee, and there-
fore I will that the said offices be divided." Quoth
Brother Masseo with great humility and patience :
*' Father, whate'er thou dost lay on me, or wholly,
or in part, I deem it altogether done of God."
Then S. Francis, beholding their loving kindness
and the humility of Brother Masseo, preached
unto them a marvellous sermon on holy humility ;
setting forth unto them that the greater the gifts
and graces that God giveth us, the more humble
should we be, sith without humility no virtue is
acceptable to God. And done the preaching, he
distributed the offices with love exceeding great.

CHAPTER XIII

How S. Francis and Brother Masseo set the bread that they
had begged upon a stone hard by a fountain.^ and how
S. Francis praised poverty exceedingly. Then besought
God and S. Peter and S. Paul that He would set in
his heart the love of holy poverty^ and how S. Peter and
S. Paul appeared unto him

The wonderful servant and follower of Christ, to
wit S. Francis, to the end that he might in all
things conform himself perfectly unto Christ,
who, as the Gospel saith, sent His disciples forth
by two and two unto all the cities and places

36 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

where He was Himself purposing to go ; seeing
that after the pattern of Christ he had gathered to-
gether twelve companions, sent them forth by two
and two to preach throughout the world. And
to give them an ensample of true obedience, he
was himself the first to go, after the pattern of
Christ who began to do before He taught. Where-
fore having allotted to his companions the other
parts of the world, he with Brother Masseo as his
companion took the road that led to the land of
France. And coming one day to a town sore
hungered, they went, according to the rule,
begging their bread for the love of God ; and S.
Francis went by one street, and Brother Masseo
by another. But because S. Francis was mean to
look upon and small of stature, and was deemed
thereby a vile beggar by whoso knew him not, he
got by his begging naught save a few mouthfuls
and scraps of dry bread : but to Brother Masseo,
in that he was tall and fair of form, were given
good pieces, large and in plenty, and of fresh
bread. When that they had done their begging,
they met together to eat in a place without the
city, where was a fair fountain and, hard by, a
fine, broad stone ; upon the which each set the
alms that he had begged. And S. Francis, seeing
that Brother Masseo's pieces of bread were more
and finer and larger than his own, rejoiced with
great joy, and said : " O Brother Masseo, we are
not worthy of such vast treasure : " and when he
repeated many times these selfsame words, Brother
Masseo made answer : " Father, how can one speak
of treasure where is such poverty and lack ot

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 37

all things whereof there is need ? Here is nor
cloth, nor knife, nor plate, nor porringer, nor house,
nor table, nor man-servant, nor maid-servant."
Ouoth S. Francis: *'And this it is that I ac-
count vast treasure, wherein is no thing at all pre-
pared by human hands, but whatsoe'er we have is
given by God's own providence, as manifestly doth
appear in the bread that we have begged, in the
table of stone so fine, and in the fount so clear ;
wherefore I will that we pray unto God that He
make us to love with all our heart the treasure of
holy poverty which is so noble, that thereunto did
God Himself become a servitor." And when he
had said these words, and they had done their
prayer, and for refreshment of the body had taken
of those pieces and drunk of that water, they
rose up to journey into France, and drawing nigh
unto a church S. Francis said to his companion :
'* Let us go into the church to pray." And S.
Francis gat him behind the altar and gave himself
to prayer : and in that same prayer he received
from the divine visitation fervour so exceeding
great, the which inflamed his soul so mightily with
the love of holy poverty that, by the colour of
his face and the unwonted opening of his lips, it
seemed as though he breathed forth flames of love.
And coming thus enkindled to his companion, he
bespakehim thus : *' Ah ! ah ! ah ! Brother Masseo,
give thyself to me ; " and thus spake he three
times ; and at the third time S. Francis with his
breath lifted Brother Masseo up into the air, and
threw him a great spear's length in front of him ;
whereby exceeding great amazement took hold on
Brother Masseo. Afterwards he recounted to

38 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

his companions how that, when as he was uplifted
and hurled along by the breath that S. Francis
breathed on him, he tasted such sweetness of soul,
and consolation of the Holy Spirit, that in all his
life he ne'er had felt the like. And this done,
S. Francis said : '' My comrade, let us go to S.
Peter and S. Paul and pray them to teach us and
help us to possess the immeasurable treasure of
most holy poverty ; for it is a treasure so high
excelling and so divine that we be not worthy to
lay it up in our vile vessels ; since this is that
celestial virtue whereby all earthly things and
fleeting are trodden under foot, and whereby all
hindrances are lifted from the soul, so that freely
she may join herself to God eternal. And this is
the virtue that makes the soul, still tied to earth,
hold converse with the angels in heaven, and this it
is that hung with Christ upon the cross, with Christ
was buried, with Christ rose up again, with Christ
ascended into heaven ; the which also in this life
grants to the souls that love it an easier flight to
heaven ; in that it guards the arms of true humility
and love. Wherefore let us pray the most holy
apostles of Christ, the which were perfect lovers
of this gospel pearl, that they may beg for us this
grace from our Lord Jesu Christ, that of His
most holy mercy He may make us worthy to be-
come true lovers, followers, and humble disciples,
of the most precious, most lovable, and gospel
poverty." With such converse they so fared
until they came unto Rome, and went into the
church of S. Peter; and S. Francis set himself
to pray in one corner of the church, and Brother
Masseo in another ; and as he continued a long

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 39

time in prayer with much weeping and devotion,
there appeared unto S. Francis the most holy
apostles Peter and Paul in great splendour, and
said : '* Because thou hast asked and desired to
observe that which Christ and His holy apostles
observed, the Lord Jesu Christ hath sent us unto
thee to announce that thy prayer is heard, and
that God has granted to thee and to thy followers
in uttermost perfection the treasure of most holy
poverty. And further we tell thee in His name
that whoso after thy pattern shall perfectly follow
this desire, he is assured of the blessedness of
life eternal : and blessed shalt thou and all thy
followers be ; '' and with these words they were
away, leaving S. Francis filled with consolation. And
rising from prayer, he returned to his companion
and asked him if God had revealed naught unto
him; and he answered, *'Naught." Then S. Francis
told him how the holy apostles had appeared to
him, and what they had revealed. Whereat they
both being filled with joy resolved to return unto
the valley of Spoleto, and leave their journeying
into France.

CHAPTER XIV

How as S. Francis and his brothers were discoursing of God^
He appeared in the midst of them

S. Francis and his companions, in the beginning
of the Order, being gathered together to speak of
Christ, in fervour of spirit he bade one of them
open his mouth in the name of God, and speak of
God whatever the Holy Spirit might inspire in him.

40 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

When the brother had done his bidding and spoken
marvellous things of God, S. Francis laid silence
upon him, and bade another brother do likewise.
He yielding obedience, and discoursing subtly of
God, S. Francis in like manner laid silence upon
him, and bade a third discourse of God, the which
in like manner began to speak so deeply of the
secret things of God, that S. Francis knew of a
surety that, even as the other twain, he spake by
the Holy Spirit : and this likewise was set forth
by example and a clear sign ; for while they thus
were speaking, there appeared the blessed Christ
in the midst of them in form and fashion of a youth
most fair, and blessing them all, filled them with
such grace and sweetness, that they all were rapt
away out of themselves, and lay as though dead,
taking no heed of aught of this world. Then
returning to himself again, S. Francis said unto
them : *' My brothers most dear, give thanks to
God, who hath willed,by the mouths of the simple,
to reveal the treasure of heavenly wisdom ; since
God it is that openeth the mouth of the dumb,
and maketh the tongues of the simple to speak
words exceeding wise."

CHAPTER XV

How S, Clare ate zvtth S. Francis and the brothers^ his
companions, in S. Mary of the Angels

Whenas S. Francis was at Assisi, oftentimes he
visited S. Clare and gave her holy admonishments.
And she having exceeding great desire, once to

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 41

break bread with him, oft-times besought him
thereto, but he was never willing to grant her this
consolation ; wherefore his companions, beholding
the desire of S. Clare, said unto S. Francis : *' Father,
it doth appear to us that this severity accordeth
not with heavenly charity : since thou givest not
ear unto Sister Clare, a virgin so saintly, so be-
loved of God, in so slight a matter as breaking
bread with thee, and above all bearing in mind
that she through thy preaching abandoned the riches
and pomps of the world. And of a truth, had
she asked of thee a greater boon than this, thou
oughtest so to do unto thy spiritual plant."
Then replied S. Francis : '* Doth it seem good to
you that I should grant her prayer .? " Replied
his companions : " Yea, father, fitting is it that
thou grant, her this boon and consolation." Then
spake S. Francis : '' Since it seems good to you, it
seems so likewise unto me. But that she may be
the more consoled, I will that this breaking of
bread take place in S. Mary of the Angels ; for
she has been long time shut up in S. Damian so
that it will rejoice her to see again the house of
S. Mary, where her hair was shorn away and she
became the bride of Jesu Christ ; and there let us
eat together in the name of God." When came
the day ordained by him, S. Clare with one com-
panion passed forth from out the convent, and
with the companions of S. Francis to bear her
company came unto S. Mary of the Angels, and
devoutly saluted the Virgin Mary before her altar,
v/here she had been shorn and veiled ; so they
conducted her to see the House, until such time

42 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

as the hour for breaking bread was come. And
in the meantime S. Francis let make ready the
table on the bare ground, as he was wont to do.
And the hour of breaking bread being come, they
set themselves down together, S. Francis and S.
Clare, and one of the companions of S. Francis
with the companion of S. Clare, and all the other
companions took each his place at the table with
all humility. And at the first dish, S. Francis
began to speak of God so sweetly, so sublimely,
and so wondrously, that the fulness of divine
grace came down on them, and they all were rapt
in God. And as they were thus rapt, with eyes
and hands uplift to heaven, the folk of Assisi and
Bettona and the country round about, saw that
S. Mary of the Angels, and all the House, and
the wood that was just hard by the House, were
burning brightly, and it seemed as it were a great
fire that filled the church and the House and the
whole wood together : for the which cause the
folk of Assisi ran thither in great haste for to
quench the flames, believing of a truth that the
whole place was all on fire. But coming close up
to the House and finding no fire at all, they
entered within and found S. F'rancis and S. Clare
and all their company in comtemplation rapt in
God and sitting around that humble board.
Whereby of a truth they understood that this
had been a heavenly flame and no earthly one at
all, which God had let appear miraculously, for to
show and signify the fire of love divine wherewith
the souls of those holy brothers and holy nuns were
all aflame ; wherefore they gat them gone with

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S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 43

great consolation in their hearts and with holy
edifying. Then after some long space, S. Francis
and S. Clare, together with all the others, returning
to themselves again and feeling of good comfort
from the spiritual food, took little heed of the
food of the body. And, that blessed feast thus
ended, S. Clare, escorted well, returned unto S.
Damian, whereby the sisters, beholding her, had
joy exceeding great ; for they feared lest S. Francis
should have sent her to rule some other convent,
even as he had already sent Sister Agnes, her holy
sister, as abbess to rule the convent of Monticelli
at Florence : and S. Francis on a time had said to
S. Clare : *' Be thou ready, if so be that I needs
must send thee to some other House ; " and she,
as a daughter of holy obedience, had made answer :
'' Father, I am at all times ready to go whither-
soever thou mayest send me." Wherefore the
sisters rejoiced exceedingly when they saw her face
again : and thenceforward S. Clare abode in much
consolation.

CHAPTER XVI

How S. Francis received the counsel of S. Clare and of the holy
Brother Silvester^ that it behoved him by preaching to
convert much people ; and how he founded the third Order^
and preached unto the birdsy and made the swallows hold
their peace

The humble servant of Christ, S. Francis, a short
while after his conversion, having already gathered
together many companions and received them

44 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

into the order, fell into deep thought and much
doubting as to what he ought to do : whether
to give himself wholly unto prayer, or some time
also unto preaching : and on this matter he much
desired to learn the will of God. And for that
the holy humility that was in him suffered him
not to trust over much in himself nor in his own
prayers, he thought to search out the will of God
through the prayers of others : wherefore he called
Brother Masseo, and bespake him thus : " Go
unto Sister Clare and tell her on my behalf, that
she with certain of her most spiritual companions,
should pray devoutly unto God, that it may please
Him to show me which of the twain is the better :
whether to give myself to preaching or wholly
unto prayer. And then go unto Brother Silvester
and tell the like to him." This was that Bro-
ther Silvester who when he was in the world had
seen a cross of gold proceeding from the mouth
of S. Francis, the which reached even unto heaven
and the arms thereof unto the ends of the world,
and this Brother Silvester was of so great devotion
and so great sanctity, that whatsoe'er he asked of
God was granted him, and oftentimes he spake
with God ; wherefore S. Francis had a great de-
votion unto him. So Brother Masseo departed,
and according to the bidding of S. Francis car-
ried his message first unto S. Clare and then unto
Brother Silvester. Who, when he had heard
thereof, forthwith fell on his knees in prayer,
and as he prayed received answer from God,
and turned to Brother Masseo, and bespake him
thus: ''Thus saith the Lord : Say unto Brother

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 45

Francis that God has not called him to this estate
for himself alone, but to the end that he may
gain fruit of souls, and that many through him
may be saved.'' With this reply Brother Masseo
returned to S. Clare to learn what she had re-
ceived of God, and she answered that God had
sent to her and her companions the same reply
as He had given to Brother Silvester. Whereat
Brother Masseo hied him back again to S. Fran-
cis ; and S. Francis received him with exceeding
great love, washing his feet and making ready
for him the meal, and after he had eaten, S.
Francis called Brother Masseo into the wood ;
and there kneeled down before him and drew back
his hood, stretching out his arms in the shape
of a cross, and asked him : *' What has my Lord
Jesu Christ commanded that I should do ? " Re-
plied Brother Masseo : " As unto Brother Silvester,
so likewise unto Sister Clare and her sisters, has
Christ made answer and revealed : that it is His
will that thou go throughout the world to preach,
since He hath chosen thee not for thyself alone,
but also for the salvation of others." And then
S. Francis, when he had heard this answer and
known thereby the will of Jesu Christ, rose up
with fervour exceeding great, and said : *'Let us
be going in the name of God ; " and he took for his
companions Brother Masseo and Brother Agnolo,
holy men. And setting forth with fervent zeal
of spirit, taking no thought for road or way, they
came unto a little town that was called Savurniano,
and S. Francis set himself to preach, but first
he bade the swallows that were twittering keep

46 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

silence till such time as he had done the preach-
ing ; and the swallows were obedient to his word,
and he preached there with such fervour that all
the men and women of that town minded through
their devotion to come after him and leave the
town, but S. Francis suffered them not, saying :
'' Make not ill haste nor leave your homes; and
I will ordain for you what ye should do for the
salvation of your souls : " and therewith he re-
solved to found the third Order, for the salvation
of all the world. And so leaving them much
comforted and with minds firm set on penitence,
he departed thence and came unto a place between
Cannaio and Bevagno. And as with great fervour
he was going on the way, he lifted up his eyes
and beheld some trees hard by the road whereon
sat a great company of birds well-nigh with-
out number ; whereat S. Francis marvelled, and
said to his companions: ''Ye shall wait forme
here upon the way and I will go to preach unto
my little sisters, the birds." And he went into
the field and began to preach unto the birds that
were on the ground ; and immediately those that
were on the trees flew down to him, and they all
of them remained still and quiet together, until S.
Francis made an end of preaching : and not even
then did they depart, until he had given them his
blessing. And according to what Brother Masseo
afterwards related unto Brother Jacques da Massa,
S. Francis went among them touching them with
his cloak, howbeit none moved from out his
place. The Sermon that S. Francis preached unto
them was after this fashion : " My little sisters.

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S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 47

the birds, much bounden are ye unto God, your
Creator, and alway in every place ought ye to
praise Him, for that He hath given you liberty
to fly about everywhere, and hath also given you
double and triple raiment ; moreover He preserved
your seed in the ark of Noah, that your race might
not perish out of the world ; still more are ye
beholden to Him for the element of the air which
He hath appointed for you ; beyond all this, ye
sow not, neither do ye reap ; and God feedeth you,
and giveth you the streams and fountains for your
drink ; the mountains and the valleys for your
refuge and the high trees whereon to make your
nests ; and because ye know not how to spin or
sew, God clotheth you, you and your children ;
wherefore your Creator loveth you much, seeing
that He hath bestowed on you so many benefits ;
and therefore, my little sisters, beware of the sin
of ingratitude, and study always to give praises
unto God." Whenas S. Francis spake these
words to them, those birds began all of them to
open their beaks, and stretch their necks, and
spread their wings, and reverently bend their heads
down to the ground, and by their acts and by their
songs to show that the holy Father gave them
joy exceeding great. And S. Francis rejoiced with
them, and was glad, and marvelled much at so
great a company of birds and their most beautiful
diversity and their good heed and sweet friend-
liness, for the which cause he devoutly praised
their Creator in them. At the last, having ended
the preaching, S. Francis made over them the sign
of the cross, and gave them leave to go away ;

48 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

and thereby all the birds with wondrous singing
rose up in the air ; and then, in the fashion of
the cross that S. Francis had made over them,
divided themselves into four parts ; and the one
part flew toward the East, and the other toward
the West, and the other toward the South, and
the fourth toward the North, and each flight
went on its way singing wondrous songs ; signify-
ing thereby that even as S. Francis, the standard-
bearer of the Cross of Christ, had preached unto
them, and made over them the sign of the cross,
after the pattern of which they separated them-
selves unto the four parts of the world : even
so the preaching of the Cross of Christ, renewed
by S. Francis, would be carried by him and the
brothers throughout all the world ; the which
brothers, after the fashion of the birds, possessing
nothing of their own in this world, commit their
lives wholly unto the providence of God.

CHAPTER XVII

How a little boy-brother^ while S. Francis was praying in
the night, saw Christ and the Firgin Mary and many
other saints hold converse with him

A LITTLE boy, very pure and innocent, was received
into the Order, while S. Francis was yet alive ; and
he abode in a little House, wherein of necessity
the brothers slept on mats. It befell on a time
that S. Francis came to the said House, and in the
evening, after Compline, lay down to sleep, to the
intent that he might be able to rise up in the night

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 49

to pray while the other brothers slept, as it was
his wont to do. The aforesaid little boy set it in
his heart diligently to keep watch upon the ways
of S. Francis, that he might come to know of his
sanctity, and chiefly that he might learn what he
did by night when he arose. And to the end that
sleep might not play him false, that little boy laid
him down to sleep close to S. Francis, and tied his
cord to the cord of S. Francis, for to be ware when
he got up ; and of this S. Francis perceived naught.
But at night in his first sleep, when all the other
brothers were sleeping, he arose and found his cord
thus tied : and softly he loosed it, so that the little
boy was not aware thereof, and S. Francis went out
alone into the wood that was hard by the House,
and entered into a little cell that was therein, and
set himself to pray. After some short space the
little boy awoke, and finding the cord unloosed,
and S. Francis gone, arose and went in search of
him : and finding the door open that led into the
wood, he deemed that S. Francis had gone thither,
and so entered into the wood. And coming close
up to the place where S. Francis was praying, he
began to hear much discourse ; and drawing nigher
for to see and learn what it was he heard, he be-
held a marvellous light that shone round about S.
Francis, and therein he saw Christ and the Virgin
Mary and S. John the Baptist and the Evangelist,
and a great multitude of angels, speaking with S.
Francis. When this he saw and heard, the little
boy fell on the ground in a deep swoon; so when the
mystery of this holy vision was ended, S. Francis,
returning to the House, stumbled upon the little

D

co THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

J

boy lying as though dead upon the ground ; and
in pity lifted him up and bore him in his arms, as
doth the good shepherd with his sheep. Learning
thereafter from him how he had seen the vision
set forth above, he bade him reveal it unto no man
so long as he should be alive. And the little boy
grew up in great favour with God and devotion to
S. Francis, and became a man of worth in the Order,
and after the death of S. Francis he revealed unto
the brothers the vision set forth above.

CHAPTER XVIII

Of the marvellous chapter that S. Francis held at S. Alary
of the Angelsy whereat zvere more than five thousand
brothers

The faithful servant of Christ, Francis, on a time
held a general chapter at S. Mary of the Angels,
at the which chapter were gathered together more
than five thousand brothers ; and thither came S.
Dominic, head and founder of the Order of the
Preaching Brothers, who was then on his way from
Borgogna to Rome. And hearing of the Congre-
gation of the chapter that S. Francis was holding
on the plain of S. Mary of the Angels, he went
to see it with seven brothers of his Order. There
was also at the said chapter a cardinal most devoted
to S. Francis, who had prophesied unto him that
he would be Pope, and it so came to pass ; the
which cardinal had come of set purpose from
Perugia, where the Court was, to Assisi ; every

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 51

day he came to see S. Francis and his brothers, and
sometimes he sang the Mass, and sometimes he
preached unto the brothers in chapter, and the said
cardinal felt exceeding great joy and devotion
whensoever he came to visit this holy company.
And beholding the brothers sitting on the plain
round about S. Mary's in companies, here forty,
there a hundred, there eighty together, all busied
in discourse of God, in prayers, in tears, in works
of love, and all abiding in such silence and such
modesty that there was heard no noise or sound
of contention ; and marvelling at so great a multi-
tude so set in order, with tears and deep devotion,
he said : " Of a truth this is the camp and the
army of the knights of God." Nor was there
heard in so great a multitude or idle speech or
foolish jest, but, wheresoever a company of brothers
was gathered together, they either prayed, or said
the office, and bewailed their sins or those of their
benefactors, or discoursed concerning the salvation
of souls. In that camp were roofs of willows and
rush-mats, set apart in groups according to the
brothers of diverse provinces ; and thereby was this
chapter called the Chapter of the Trellises, or of
the Rush-mats; their bed was the bare ground, and
for such as had it a little straw ; their pillows were
stones or logs of wood. For the which cause so
great devotion towards them was felt by whoso
heard or saw, and so great was the fame of their
sanctity, that from the Court of the Pope which
was at that time in Perugia, and from the other
parts of the valley of Spoleto, there came many
counts, barons, and kinghts, and other gentle folk,

52 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

and many country folk, and cardinals and bishops
and abbots with many other clergy, for to see this
holy gathering, so great and so humble, such as
the world had never seen before, of so many holy
men together : and chiefest of all they came to see
the head and most holy father of that holy band,
the which had robbed the world of such fair prey,
and gathered together so devout and fair a flock
to follow in the foot-steps of the true Shepherd
Jesu Christ. The chapter general being then all as-
sembled, the holy father of all and minister general,
S. Francis, in fervour of spirit set forth the word of
God : and preached unto them in a loud voice as
the Holy Spirit made him to speak ; and as argu-
ment of his sermon he set forth unto them these
words : " My little children, great things have
we promised unto God, much greater far hath
God promised unto us, if we observe what we have
promised unto Him ; and of a surety shall we
behold what hath been promised unto us. Short-
lived is the joy of the world ; the pain that follows
it is everlasting ; little are the pains of this life,
but the glory of the other life is infinite.'' And
on these words preaching most devoutly, he com-
forted the brothers and turned their hearts into
obedience and reverence for holy Mother Church,
and unto brotherly love, to pray God for all
men, and to have patience in the adversities of the
world, and temperance in prosperity, to observe
modesty and angelic chastity, and to have peace
and concord with God and with men and with their
own conscience, and the love and practice of most
holy poverty. And therewith he said unto them :

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 53

*' I command you, by the merit of holy obedience,
all ye who be here gathered together, that no one
of you take care or thought for aught to eat or for
aught of the needs of the body, but turn all your
thoughts to prayer and praise of God : and cast all
your care for your body upon Him, for He careth
tenderly for you." And they all received this com-
mandment with glad heart and joyful countenance,
and done the sermon of S. Francis, they all fell
down in prayer. Whereby S. Dominic, who was
present at all these things, marvelled exceedingly
at the commandment of S. Francis and deemed
him indiscreet, not knowing how to think in what
manner so great a multitude could live without
taking thought or care for the needs of the body.
But the chief Shepherd, Christ, the Blessed One,
desiring to show what care He has for His sheep,
and what tender love for His poor ones, straight-
way put it into the hearts of the folk of Perugia,
of Spoleto, of Fuligno, of Spello and of Assisi, and
the rest of the country round about, to bring food
and drink unto this holy company. And lo ! all
at once from the parts aforesaid came men with
sumpter beasts, horses and carts, with loads of
bread, of wine, of honey-combs, and cheese, and
other goodithings to eat, according as the poor of
Christ had need. Besides this, brought they nap-
kins, pitchers, cups, glasses and other vessels, to
serve the needs of so great a multitude : and he
deemed himself blessed whoso could bring most or
serve most diligently ; in such sort that even the
knights and the barons and other gentle folk that
came to see, did service unto them with great

54 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

devotion and humility. For the which cause, S.
Dominic, seeing these things, and knowing of a
truth that God's Providence was working in them,
humbly repented him that he had falsely judged
S. Francis to be indiscreet ; and coming before him,
he knelt down, and humbly told his fault, and
added: "Of a truth God hath especial care of
these holy poor little ones, and I knew it not ; and
from now henceforth I promise to observe the holy
gospel poverty ; and in the name of God I curse
all the brothers of my Order who in the said
Order shall presume to hold property." So was
S. Dominic much edified by the faith of the most
holy Francis, and by the obedience of the poverty
of so great and well-ordered a company, and by
the divine Providence, and the rich abundance of
all good things. In the same chapter it was told
unto S. Francis that many of the brothers wore
little hearts and bands of iron on their bare flesh,
for the which reason many were weak and some were
dying thereby, and many were let and hindered
from prayer. Wherefore S. Francis, like a most
prudent father, commanded by holy obedience that
whoso had either a little heart or band of iron,
should take it off and lay it down before him, and
even so did they ; and there were counted up full
Uve hundred little hearts of iron ; and many more
bands, both for the arms and for the loins ; so that
they made a great heap thereof; and S. Francis let
leave them there. Afterthat the chapterwas ended,
S. Francis, strengthening them in good works,
and teaching them how they ought to escape out
of this wicked world without sin, sent them back

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI SS

again unto their provinces, with the blessing of
God and his own, all consoled with spiritual
joy.

CHAPTER XIX

How the vineyard of the priest of Rieti, in whose house S.
Francis prayed, was robbed and despoiled of its grapes by
the much folk that came to him ; and then miraculously
yielded more wine than ever before, even as S. Francis had
promised him. And how God revealed unto S. Francis
that at his death he should inherit paradise

S. Francis being on a time grievously afflicted in
his eyes, Cardinal Ugolino, protector of the Order,
for the great tenderness that he bore him, wrote
unto him to come to him in Rieti, wherein dwelt
most cunning physicians for the eyes. Then S.
Francis, having received the letter of the cardinal,
gat him first to S. Damian, where was S. Clare, the
devout bride of Christ, for to give her some con-
solation and thereafter go to the cardinal. S.
Francis having won there, his eyes grew so much
worse on the next ensuing night that he could not
see the light a whit ; wherefore sith he could not
go upon his way, S. Clare let build for him a little
cell of reeds, wherein he might the better rest him-
self. But S. Francis, what with the pain of his in-
firmity, and what with the multitude of rats, that
did him exceeding great annoy, could find, nor
day, nor night, no rest at all. And having yet
more of such pains and tribulation to endure, he
began to think and understand that this was a

56 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

scourge from God for his sins ; and to thank God
with all his heart and with his mouth, and anon
cried with a loud voice, saying : '* My Lord, of
all this am I deserving, and much worse. My
Lord Jesu Christ, Thou good Shepherd, who dost
show forth Thy mercy to us sinners in diverse
pains and anguish of the body, grant unto me, Thy
little sheep, such grace and virtue that through no
infirmity and agony or pain may I ever part from
Thee." While thus he prayed, there came a voice
from heaven that said : " Francis, answer me : if
all the world were gold, and all the seas and streams
and fountains were balm, and all the mountains
and hills and rocks were precious stones ; and thou
shouldst find a treasure yet more noble than these
things, as much as gold is nobler than earth, and
balm than water, and precious stones than moun-
tains and rocks, and if for thine infirmity that
nobler treasure were given thee, wouldst thou not
be well content therewith and right glad ? " Re-
plied S. Francis : " Lord, I am not worthy of so
precious a treasure ; " and the voice of God spake
unto him : " Rejoice, Francis, for this is the treasure
of eternal life, the which I have laid up for thee,
and from this hour I give it thee in possession ; and
this infirmity and affliction is the earnest of that
blessed treasure.'' Then S. Francis called his com-
panion, with great joy in so glorious a promise, and
said : " Let us go unto the cardinal," but first of
all consoling S. Clare with holy words, and humbly
taking leave of her, he set out on the way to Rieti.
And when he drew nigh thereto, so great a press
of people came out to meet him, that he would

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 57

not for this cause enter into the city ; but gat him
to a church that lay without the city, it might be
a two miles' space. The city folk, coming to know
that he was gone to the said church, ran together
for to see him, in such sort that the vineyard of
the church was spoiled altogether, and the grapes
of it were all plucked ; whereof the priest was sore
grieving in his heart, and repented him that he had
received S. Francis into his church. The thought
of the priest being revealed of God unto S. Francis,
he let call him, and said : '' Dear father, how many
measures of wine doth this vineyard yield thee,
the year it yields its best ? " Replied the priest :
*' Twelve measures." Quoth S. Francis : " I pray
thee, Father, that thou bear patiently with me if
I tarry here some days, seeing that I find here
much repose ; and let whoso will pluck of the
grapes of this thy vineyard, for the love of God
and me, his poor little one ; and I promise thee,
in the name of my Lord Jesu Christ, that it shall
yield thee twenty measures every year." And thus
did S. Francis in return for his sojourning there,
because of the great fruit of souls that was mani-
festly gathered of the folk that resorted thither;
whereof many departed drunken with love divine,
and abandoned the world. The priest trusted the
promise of S. Francis, and freely gave up the garden
unto all that came to him. And it was a marvel
to see how the vineyard was all spoiled and plucked,
so that scarce any bunches of grapes were found
left. The time of the vintage came ; and the
priest gathered in such bunches as remained, and
put them in the vat and trod them out, and accord-

58 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

ing to the promise of S. Francis got thereout twenty
measures of the best wine. By this miracle it was
manifestly set forth, for men to understand, that
even as the vineyard despoiled of grapes abounded
in wine, through the merits of S. Francis ; even so
the Christian people, that had grown barren of
virtue by reason of sin, through the merits and
teaching of S. Francis oftentimes abounded in the
good fruits of penitence.

CHAPTER XX

Of a vision wondrous fairy seen by a young brother y the which
did hold the cowl in such hate that he minded to put off
the habit and leave the Order

A VERY noble and tender youth entered into the
Order of S. Francis : the which after some days,
through the prompting of the devil, began to hold
the habit that he wore in such hate, that it seemed
unto him he wore a sack most vile ; the sleeves he
abhorred, he hated the hood, and the length and
the roughness were unto him as a load unbearable.
And his mislike of the religious life increasing more
and more, at length he was purposed to put off
the habit and return to the world. Now already
it was his wont, according as his master had taught
him, so often as he passed before the altar of the
convent, whereon was kept the Body of Christ, to
kneel with great reverence, and draw back his hood,
and with arms crossed bow himself down. It be-
fell that on the night whereon he was to go away

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 59

and leave the Order, he must needs pass before the
altar of the convent ; and as he passed, he kneeled
him down as was his wont and did reverence. And
forthwith he was rapt in spirit, and God showed
unto him a wondrous vision : in that he saw before
him as it were a countless multitude of saints, like
a procession, two and two, clad in beauteous robes
of precious stuffs, and their faces and their hands
shone like the sun, and they marched to the songs
and chants of angels. Among these saints were
twain more nobly clad and adorned than all the rest ;
and they were wrapt around with so much bright-
ness that they wrought exceeding great amazement
in whoso looked on them ; and nigh to the end
of the procession he saw one adorned with great
glory that he seemed a new-made knight, more
honoured than they all. The youth beholding the
vision aforesaid, marvelled exceedingly and knew
not what this procession might portend, and dared
not ask, but stood all mazed for very sweetness.
Hov/beit when all the procession had passed by,
he took courage and ran after the last of them,
and with great fear asked them, saying : " Dear
friends, I pray you of your good pleasure to tell
me who are these folk so wonderful that go in
this worshipful procession." They made answer :
*' Know, little son, that we be all Brothers Minor
coming from the glory of paradise." And again
he asked : " Who be those twain that shine more
than the others ? '' They answered him : ''These
are S. P>ancis and S, Antony : and this last one
that thou seest so honoured is a holy brother who
died of late: the which, for that valiantly he fought

6o THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

against temptations, and persevered even unto the
end, we are leading in triumph to the glory of
paradise, and these robes of precious stuffs so
beautiful, that we wear, have been given us by
God in lieu of the rough tunics that we wore with
patience in the religious life ; and the glorious
brightness that thou seest in us is given us of God
for the humility and patience, and for the holy
poverty and obedience and chastity, that we kept
even unto the end. Wherefore, little son, let it not
seem a hard matter to thee to wear the sackcloth of
religion that beareth such good fruit ; seeing that,
if with the sackcloth of S. Francis for the love of
Christ thou despise the world, and mortify the
flesh, and strive valiantly against the evil one, thou
shalt together with us have even such a robe as
this, and such brightness of glory." And these
words spoken, the youth returned to himself again;
and taking comfort from the vision, chased far
from him all temptation, confessed his fault before
the guardian and the brothers, and from thence-
forth desired the roughness of penitence and of
dress, and ended his days in the Order in great
sanctity.

CHAPTER XXI

Of the most holy miracle that S. Francis lurought when he
converted the fierce wolf of Agobio

What time S. Francis abode in the city of Agobio,
there appeared in the country of Agobio an ex-
ceeding great wolf, terrible and fierce, the which

Uh r/,iirf("i A/tti'UZi/lt'

S. FRANCIS ANIJ TIIK \V(.)\.l Oì' (;UI',l'>IO
(CoUection of Covile de M arici)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 61

not only devoured animals, but also men, in so
much that all the city folk stood in great fear,
sith oft-times he came near to the city, and all
men when they went out arrayed them in arms as
it were for the battle, and yet withal they might
not avail to defend them against him whensoever
any chanced on him alone ; for fear of this wolf
they were come to such a pass that none durst
go forth of that place. For the which matter, S.
Francis having compassion on the people of that
land, wished to go forth unto that wolf, albeit the
townsfolk all gave counsel against it : and making
the sign of the most holy cross he went forth from
that place with his companions, putting all his
trust in God. And the others misdoubting to go
further, S. Francis took the road to the place where
the wolf lay. And lo ! in the sight of many of the
townsfolk that had come out to see this miracle,
the said wolf made at S. Francis with open mouth :
and coming up to him, S. Francis made over him
the sign of the most holy cross, and called him to
him, and bespake him thus: ''Come hither, brother
wolf: I command thee in the name of Christ that
thou do no harm, nor to me nor to any one." O
wondrous thing ! Whenas S. Francis had made
the sign of the cross, right so the terrible wolf
shut his jaws and stayed his running : and when
he was bid, came gently as a lamb and lay him
down at the feet of S. Francis. Thereat S. Francis
thus bespake him : '* Brother wolf, much harm
hast thou wrought in these parts and done grievous
ill, spoiling and slaying the creatures of God, with-
out His leave : and not alone hast thou slain and

62 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

devoured the brute beasts, but hast dared to slay
men, made in the image of God ; for the which
cause thou art deserving of the gibbet as a thief
and a most base murderer ; and all men cry out
and murmur against thee and all this land is thine
enemy. But I would fain, brother wolf, make
peace between thee and these ; so that thou mayest
no more offend them, and they may forgive thee
all thy past offences, and nor men nor dogs pursue
thee any more/' At these words the wolf with
movements of body, tail, and eyes, and by the
bending of his head, gave sign of his assent to
what S. Francis said, and of his will to abide there-
by. Then spake S. Francis again: "Brother wolf,
sith it pleaseth thee to make and hold this peace,
I promise thee that I will see to it that the folk of
this place give thee food alway so long as thou
shalt live, so that thou suffer not hunger any more ;
for that I wot well that through hunger hast thou
wrought all this ill. But sith I win for thee this
grace, I will, brother wolf, that thou promise me
to do none hurt to any more, be he man or beast ;
dost promise me this ì '' And the wolf gave clear
token by the bowing of his head that he promised.
Then quoth S. Francis : *' Brother wolf, I will that
thou plight me troth for this promise, that I may
trust thee full well." And S. Francis stretching
forth his hand to take pledge of his troth, the wolf
lifted up his right paw before him and laid it gently
on the hand of S. Francis, giving thereby such sign
of good faith as he was able. Then quoth S.
Francis : '* Brother wolf, I bid thee in the name
of Jesu Christ come now with mc, nothing doubt-

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 61,'

ing, and let us go stablish this peace in God's
name." And the wolf obedient set forth with
him, in fashion as a gentle lamb ; whereat the
townsfolk made mighty marvel, beholding. And
straightway the bruit of it was spread through all
the city, so that all the people, men-folk and
women-folk, great and small, young and old, gat
them to the market place for to see the wolf with
S. Francis. And the people being gathered all to-
gether, S. Francis rose up to preach, avizing them
among other matters how for their sins God
suffered such things to be, and pestilences also :
and how far more parlous is the flame of hell, the
which must vex the damned eternally, than is the
fury of the wolf that can but slay the body ; how
much then should men fear the jaws of hell, when
such a multitude stands sore adread of the jaws of
one so small a beast ì Then turn ye, beloved,
unto God, and work out a fit repentance for your
sins ; and God will set you free from the wolf in
this present time, and in time to come from out
the fires of hell." And done the preaching, S.
Francis, said : " Give ear, my brothers : brother
wolf, who standeth here before ye, hath promised
me and plighted troth to make his peace with you,
and to offend no more in any thing ; and do ye
promise him to give him every day whatever he
needs : and I am made his surety unto you that
he will keep this pact of peace right steadfastly."
Then promised all the folk with one accord to give
him food abidingly. Then quoth S. Francis to the
wolf before them all : '* And thou, brother wolf,
dost thou make promise to keep firm this pact of

64 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

peace, that thou offend not man nor beast nor any
creature ? " And the wolf knelt him down and
bowed his head : and with gentle movements of his
body, tail, and eyes, gave sign as best he could that
he would keep their pact entire. Quoth S. Francis :
" Brother wolf, I wish that as thou hast pledged
me thy faith to this promise without the gate, even
so shouldest thou pledge me thy faith to thy pro-
mise before all the people, and that thou play me
not false for my promise, and the surety that I
have given for thee." Then the wolf lifting up his
right paw, laid it in the hand of S. Francis. There-
with, this act, and the others set forth above,
wrought such great joy and marvel in all the
people, both through devotion to the saint, and
through the newness of the miracle, and through
the peace with the wolf, that all began to lift up
their voices unto heaven praising and blessing God,
that had sent S. Francis unto them, who by his
merits had set them free from the jaws of the cruel
beast. And thereafter this same wolf lived two
years in Agobio ; and went like a tame beast in
and out the houses, from door to door, without
doing hurt to any or any doing hurt to him, and
was courteously nourished by the people ; and as
he passed thuswise through the country and the
houses, never did any dog bark behind him. At
length, after a two years' space, brother wolf died
of old age : whereat the townsfolk sorely grieved,
sith marking him pass so gently through the city,
they minded them the better of the virtue and the
sanctity of S. Francis.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 65

CHAPTER XXII

How S. Francis tamed the wild turtle-doves

It befell on a day that a certain young man had
caught many turtle-doves : and as he was carry-
ing them for sale, S. Francis, who had ever a
tender pity for gentle creatures, met him, and
looking on those turtle-doves with pitying eyes,
said to the youth: ''I pray thee give them me,
that birds so gentle, unto which the Scripture
likeneth chaste and humble and faithful souls,
may not fall into the hands of cruel men that
would kill them." Forthwith, inspired of God,
he gave them all to S. Francis ; and he receiving
them into his bosom, began to speak tenderly
unto them: *' O my sisters, simple-minded turtle-
doves, innocent and chaste, why have ye let your-
selves be caught ? Now would I fain deliver you
from death and make you nests, that ye may be
fruitful and multiply, according to the command-
ments of your Creator." And S. Francis went
and made nests for them all : and they abiding
therein, began to lay their eggs and hatch them
before the eyes of the brothers : and so tame
were they, they dwelt with S. Francis and all the
other brothers as though they had been fowls that
had always fed from their hands, and never did
they go away until S. Francis with his blessing
gave them leave to go. And to the young man
who had given them to him, S. Francis said : " My

£

66 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

little son, thou wilt yet be a brother in this Order
and do precious service unto Jesu Christ." And
so it came to pass ; for the said youth became a
brother and lived in the Order in great sanctity.

CHAPTER XXIII

How S. Francis delivered the brother that tuas in sin
luith the devil

As S. Francis was on a time at prayer in the
House of Portiuncula, through divine revelation
he saw the whole House surrounded and besieged
by devils, as it were by a great army, but no one
of them could win an entrance into the House ; for
the brothers were of so great sanctity, that the
devils could find none in whom to enter. But
as they so continued, it happened on a day that
one of these brothers was offended with another,
and thought in his heart how he might accuse
him and take vengeance upon him ; for the which
cause, while his heart was devising this wicked
thought, the devil, finding the door open, entered
into the House and set himself upon the neck of
that brother. But the heedful and pitying Shep-
herd, who was ever keeping watch over his flock,
seeing that the wolf had entered to devour his
little sheep, at once let call to him that brother,
and bade him forthwith disclose the venom of hate
he had conceived against his neighbour, through
the which he had fallen into the hands of the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 67

enemy. Whereat he being affrighted at seeing
that the holy Father knew the secret of his heart,
discovered unto him all its venom and malice, and
acknowledged his fault, and humbly begged for
penance and mercy ; and this done, whenas he was
absolved from his sin and had received penance,
immediately, before the face of S. Francis, the devil
was away ; and the brother thus set free from the
hands of that cruel beast, through the loving-
kindness of the good Shepherd, gave thanks to
God ; and going back, corrected and admonished,
to the flock of the holy Shepherd, he lived there-
after in great sanctity.

CHAPTER XXIV

How S. Francis won over to the faith the Soldan of

Babylon

Wrought on by zeal for the faith of Christ and
the desire of martvrdom, S. Francis went on a
time over sea with twelve of his most holy com-
panions, to get them straight to the Soldan of
Babylon, and they came to a land of the Saracens,
where the passes were guarded by men so cruel
that none of Christian folk that passed that way
might avail to scape from death ; but it pleased
God that they were not slain, but taken ahve, and
beaten and bound were brought before the Soldan.
And being come before him, S. Francis, taught
of the Holy Spirit, preached so divinely of the

68 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

faith of Christ, that for the sake thereof was he
willing to go even through the fire. Whereby
the Soldan began to feel exceeding great devotion
toward him, for the constancy of his faith, as for
the contempt of the world that he saw in him (for
that he would take of him no gift, albeit so very
poor), and eke for the fervour of martyrdom that
he saw in him. From that time forth the Soldan
heard him gladly and prayed him that oft-times
he would come before him, freely granting to him
and his companions leave to preach wheresoever
they would ; and he gave them a sign whereby
they might be safe from the hurt of any man.
Having such free license, S. Francis sent his
brothers and other companions two by two into
divers parts of the Saracens to preach the faith
of Christ. Seeing in the end that he could reap
no more fruit in those parts, S. Francis by divine
revelation set himself with all his companions to
return to the land of the faithful ; and when they
were all gathered together, he came again to the
Soldan and took leave of him to depart. And
therewithal said the Soldan unto him : '* Brother
Francis, I would gladly turn me to the faith of
Christ, but I fear to do so now ; for if these were
ware of it, they would kill both thee and me with
all thy company ; and inasmuch as thou canst yet
do much of good, and I have certain matters of
great weight that I must needs array, I would not
now work both my death and thine ; but teach me
now how I may be saved, sith ready am I to do
all that thou mayest lay on me." Then spake
S. Francis : " My lord, I must now go from you ;

Sassella

I). /ìcrt'iisoìi, l'.sq.

S. FRANCIS liKKORE THE SOI.DAN
(Chalandon Collection, Paris)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 69'

but after that I have returned to my country and
have gone to heaven, by the grace of God, after
my death, then, according as it shall please God,
will I send thee two of my brothers, at whose
hands thou shalt receive the holy Baptism of Christ,
and shalt be saved, even as my Lord Jesu Christ
hath revealed to me. In this mean time do thou
keep thyself free from all let and hindrance, to
the end that when the grace of God shall come
to thee, it may find thee prepared for faith and
the devout life ; " and this he promised to per-
form, and eke performed it. This done, S.
Francis returned with that venerable company of
his holy companions, and when some years had
gone by, S. Francis, by the death of the body,
gave up his soul to God. And the Soldan falling
sick, waited for the promise of S. Francis and set
guards at certain passes ; and gave orders that if
two brothers should appear in the habit of S.
Francis, they should straightway be brought to
him. At that very time S. Francis appeared to
two brothers and bade them go without delay
to the Soldan and take care for his salvation, ac-
cording as he had promised ; the which brothers
straightway set forth, and crossing the sea were
brought to the Soldan by the guards aforesaid,
and when the Soldan saw them he had exceeding
great joy, and said : " Now I know of a truth
that God hath sent His servants for my salva-
tion, according to the promise that S. Francis made
me through divine revelation." Thereon being
taught of these brothers in the faith of Christ
and receiving holy Baptism, thus re-born in Christ

70 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

he died of that sickness, and his soul was saved
through the merits and the prayers of S. Francis.

CHAPTER XXV

How S. Francis miraculously healed one that was a leper
both in soul and body ; and what the soul said to him^
as It went up into heaven

The true disciple of Christ, S. Francis, while he
lived in this miserable life, strove with all his
might to follow Christ, the perfect Master ; whence
it befell oftentimes through the divine working,
that of whomsoever he healed the body, God
healed the soul in the self-same hour, even as it is
read of Christ. And because he not only served
the lepers of his own will, but moreover had or-
dained that the brothers of his Order, whether
staying or going throughout the world, should
serve the lepers for the love of Christ, who willed
for our sakes to be accounted a leper, it befell
on a time that in a certain House, hard by to
that wherein S. Francis then abode, the brothers
were serving the lepers and the sick in an hos-
pital, wherein was a leper so impatient, and so
unbearable, and so perverse, that all men deemed
— and even so it was — that of a surety he was
possessed of the devil ; for so shamefully did he
assail with vile words and blows whoso did him
service, and, what is still worse, he blasphemed
with foul abuse the blessed Christ and His most
holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, so that in no wise

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI yj:

could be found any that could endure to serve
him or was willing thereunto. And albeit the
brothers strove with patience to endure the insults
and injuries to their own proper selves, for to in-
crease the merit of patience, nevertheless since their
consciences might no longer endure those heaped
on Christ and on His Mother, they all at once re-
solved to leave the said leper ; but they wished not
so to do until such time as they had signified the
same in order unto S. Francis, who at that time
abode in a House a-nigh thereto. And when
they had told him, S. Francis went to this leper
so perverse ; and coming close up to him, saluted
him, saying : " God give thee peace, my brother
most dear." Replied the leper: "What peace
may I have of God, who hath taken from me
peace and all good things, and hath made me
stinking and rotten altogether.^ " And S. Fran-
cis said : '' My little son, have patience ; for the
infirmities of the body are given by God in this
world for the salvation of souls, seeing that they
are of great merit when borne patiently." Re-
plied the sick man : " And how can I bear with
patience the continual pain that racks me day and
night ? And not only am I afflicted with mine
infirmity ; but the brothers whom thou hast given
me to do me service, deal worse with me, and do
not serve me as they ought." Then S. Francis,
knowing by revelation that this leper was possessed
with the evil spirit, went and set himself to pray,
and prayed God devoutly for him. And his
prayer ended, he returned to him again, and spake
thus : " My son, I will myself do thee service.

72 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

seeing thou art not content with the others." " I
am willing," quoth the sick man; "but what
canst thou do more than these others ? " Replied
S. Francis : " Whatsoever thou dost wish, that
will I do." Quoth the leper : " I wish that thou
wash me all over ; for I stink so vilely that I can-
not abide myself." Thereupon S. Francis forth-
with let boil water with many sweet-smelling
herbs ; then stripped him and began to wash him
with his own hands, and another brother poured
out the water ; and it came to pass by a divine
miracle, that wheresoe'er S. Francis touched him
with his holy hands, the leprosy departed, and
the flesh remained perfectly whole. And as the
flesh began to heal, even so began the soul to
be healed also ; whereby the leper, seeing that he
was beginning to be cured, began to feel great
compunction and repentance for his sins, and began
most bitterly to lament ; so that while his body
was being cleansed without from the leprosy by
the washing of the water, so his mind within was
cleansed from sin by amendment and by tears.
And being every whit made whole both in body
and soul, he humbly confessed his sin ; and weep-
ing, said in a loud voice : *' Woe is me, that am
worthy of hell, for the insults and injuries that
I have said and done unto the brothers, and for
the impatience and blasphemies that I have spoken
against God ; " wherefore for fifteen days he con-
tinued in bitter wailing for his sins, and in calling
on the mercy of God, confessing himself unto the
priest with his whole heart. And S. Francis be-
holding so clear a miracle, that God had worked

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 73

by his hands, gave thanks to God, and departed
thence, going into a far country ; because for
humility's sake he wished to shun all glory, and
in all his works he sought only the honour and
glory of God, and not his own. Thereafter, for
so it was the will of God, the said leper, healed in
body and soul, after fifteen days of his penitence,
fell sick of another infirmity, and died a holy death
armed with the sacraments of the church ; and
his soul on its way to Paradise appeared in the air
unto S. Francis, as he was at prayer, and said unto
him : " Dost thou know me again ? " " Who art
thou ? " quoth S. Francis. " I am the leper whom
Christ, the Blessed One, healed through thy merits,
and now I go unto life eternal ; wherefore I give
thanks to God and to thee ; blessed be thy soul
and body : and blessed be thy holy words and
works ; for through thee shall many souls in the
world be saved : and know of a truth that there
is no day in the world wherein the holy Angels
and the other Saints give not praise to God for
the holy fruits that thou and thy Order gather
in in diverse parts of the world ; wherefore be
comforted, and give thanks to God and abide stead-
fast with His blessing." And saying these words,
he passed into heaven ; and S. Francis abode in
much consolation.

74 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

CHAPTER XXVI

How S. Francis converted three robbers that were murderers
and made brothers of them ; and of the most noble vision
that was seen by one ofthem^ the which was a most holy
brother

It befell on a time that S. Francis was going
through the desert of Borgo di San Sepolcro,
and as he passed by a village called Monte Casale,
there came unto him a youth, noble and tender,
and said to him : '* Father, right willingly would
I become one of your brothers." Replied S.
Francis : '' My son, thou art a youth, tender and
noble, it may well be that thou couldst not endure
our hardships and our poverty/' And quoth he :
'' Father, are ye not men even as I ? wherefore, as ye
endure, even so shall I be able with the grace of
Jesu Christ." Well pleased was S. Francis with
this answer : so blessing him, he forthwith received
him into the Order, and gave to him the name
of Brother Angel ; and this youth bore him so
graciously that a short while thereafter S. Francis
made him guardian in the aforesaid House of
Monte Casale. Now at that time there dwelt in
those parts three notorious robbers, who wrought
much evil in that country ; the which came on a
day to the said House of the brothers, and be-
sought the said Brother Angel, the guardian, to
give them food to eat ; and the guardian with
harsh reproof, answered them after this fashion :
" Ye thieves and cruel murderers, ye be not

\

S. FRAN'CfS
After the painting on panel by Gerard David now in the Kaiser l^'riedrich Museum, lierltn)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 75

ashamed to rob others of the fruits of their labours :
but likewise, as men insolent and bold, ye would
devour the alms bestowed upon the servants of
God ; in sooth, ye are not worthy that the earth
should hold you, since ye respect nor men nor
God who created you : then go your ways and
see ye come not here again ; " whereby they went
away disquieted and full of ire. And behold,
S. Francis returned from abroad with a wallet of
bread and a little flask of wine, that he and his
companion had begged : and when the guardian
recounted unto him how he had driven the men
away, S. Francis reproved him sternly, saying that
he had borne him cruelly therein : " Because
sinners are brought back to God better by gentle-
ness than by cruel reproofs ; wherefore our master
Jesu Christ, whose Gospel we have promised to
observe, saith that they that be whole need not
a physician, but they that are sick ; and that He
was not come to call the righteous, but sinners
to repentance : wherefore He oftentimes ate with
them. Seeing then, that thou hast done against
charity and against the holy Gospel of Christ, I
command thee by holy obedience, that incontinent
thou take this wallet of bread that I have begged
and this little flask of wine, and search diligently
for them over mountains and valleys until thou
find them, and give them all this bread and wine
as from me ; and then kneel thee down before
them and humbly confess thy fault of cruelty ;
and then pray them on my behalf that they do no
more ill, but fear God nor off^end Him any more :
and if this they will do, 1 promise to provide for

76 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

their needs and to give them food and drink
abidingly : and when thou hast said this unto
them, return hither again in all humility/' While
the said guardian was going for to do his bidding,
S. Francis set himself to pray, beseeching God to
soften the hearts of those robbers and convert
them to penitence. So the obedient guardian
came up with them and offered to them the bread
and the wine, and did and said all that S. Francis
had laid upon him. And sith it was the will of
God, these robbers as they ate the alms of S. Francis
began to say among themselves : *' Woe unto us,
miserable wretches ! how grievous are the pains of
hell that await us, who go about not only robbing
our neighbours, and beating and wounding, but
likev/ise slaying them ; yet none the less for such
evil deeds and so great wickedness, as we commit,
we feel no whit remorse of conscience, neither fear
of God ; and lo ! this holy brother that hath
come to us and humbly hath confessed his fault
for diverse words he justly spake against our
wickedness ; and more than this, hath brought us
bread and wine and so bounteous a promise from
the holy Father ; of a truth these be holy brothers
of God, and merit the paradise of God ; and we
be sons of eternal perdition and merit the pains
of hell, and every day increase our own damna-
tion ; and we know not whether we can turn us
from the sins that we have cione up till now, unto
the mercy of God." As one among them spake
these and the like words, quoth the others : '* In
very sooth thou dost speak true, but come, what
is it that we needs must do?" "Let us go,"

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 77

said one, " unto S. Francis ; and if he gives us
hope that we may find mercy of God for our sins,
let us do whatsoever he bids us, and so may we be
able to deliver our souls from the pains of hell."
This counsel was pleasing unto the others ; and
so they all three being agreed, gat them in haste
to S. Francis, and bespake him thus: *' Father,
for the multitude of the sins and wickednesses that
we have committed, we deem it not possible to
return to the mercy of God ; but if thou hast any
hope that God will receive us into His mercy, lo !
we be ready to do whatsoever thou shalt tell us,
and to do penance with thee." Thereat S. Francis,
dealing lovingly with them and in kindly fashion,
comforted them with many ensamples : and making
them assured of the mercy of God, promised them
of a surety to obtain it for them from God, and
setting forth to them how that the mercy of
God is infinite ; and that if we had sins without
number, yet the mercy of God is greater than our
sins, according to the Gospel ; and the Apostle S.
Paul saith : '' Christ, the blessed One, came into
the world to save sinners." Through the which
words and the like admonishments, the said three
robbers renounced the devil and all his works ;
and S. Francis received them into the Order and
they began to do great penance : and two of them
lived but a short while after their conversion, and
went to Paradise. But the third surviving, and
bethinking him of his sins, gave himself up to
work out such penance that for fifteen years con-
tinually, save only in the common Lenten fast,
the which he kept together with the other brothers.

78 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

he fasted three days in the week on bread and
water, going always bare-foot, with one tunic
only on his back, nor sleeping ever after matins.
About this time S. Francis passed away out of
this miserable life. Now when this man for
many years had continued in such penances,
behold ! on a night, after matins, there came upon
him so great a temptation to sleep, that in noway
could he resist it and keep watch as he was wont.
At the last not being able to resist sleep any longer,
nor to pray, he went to his bed to sleep ; and as
soon as he had laid his head down, straightway was
he rapt, and carried away in spirit to a very high
mountain wherein was a precipice exceeding deep,
and on this side and on that, rocks rugged and
broken, and sharp-pointed stones jutting out of
the rocks : such that it was a fearsome sight to
look down this precipice. And the angel that
was leading the brother pushed him and threw
him down the precipice : and he falling down and
rebounding from rock to rock, and from stone to
stone, came at last to the bottom of this precipice,
torn limb from limb, and dashed all to pieces,
as it seemed to him. And as thus he lay in evil
plight uponthe ground, he that led him said to him :
**Get thee up, for thou needs must take a longer
journey yet.'' Replied the brother : " Methinks
thou dost lack discerning, and art exceeding cruel,
who seest me like to die from the fall that hath
so broken me and yet doth bid me rise ;'* and the
angel came near unto him, and touching him, made
all his limbs thorou^^hly whole, and healed him.
And after this he showed him a great plain full

S. FR/VNCIS OF ASSISI 79

of sharp and cutting stones, and thorns and briars :
and told him that he must needs run over all this
plain, and go bare-footed till he reached the end ;
whereat he saw a burning furnace that he needs
must enter in. And the brother having crossed
over all that plain with grievous agony and pains,
the angel said : ''Enter into yon furnace, for so
thou needs must do." And he answered : " Ah
me ! how cruel a guide thou art ! for thou seest
that I be nigh unto death by reason of the torments
of this plain, and now to rest me thou biddest
me enter within this burning furnace." And as
he looked, he saw within the furnace many devils
with forks of iron in their hands, with the which,
sith he was slow to enter, they thrust him in it
suddenly. When that he was come into the
furnace, looking round he beheld his godfather,
all on fire : and he questioned him : '' O hapless
godfather, how camest thou hither .^^ " And he
replied : " Go on yet a little further and thou
wilt find my wife, thy godmother, who will tell
thee the reason of our damnation." The brother
going on a little further, behold ! there appeared
unto him the godmother aforesaid, all in flames,
shut up in a corn-measure all on fire : and he
asked her : " O hapless and unhappy godmother,
wherefore hast thou comeinto such cruel torment .f^"
And she replied : " Because at the time of the
great famine that S. Francis predicted aforetime,
my husband and I falsified the measures of the
corn and grain that we sold ; and therefore I burn
fast bound within this measure." Having said
these words, the angel that led the brother thrust

8o THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

him without, the furnace, and then bespake him :
*' Make thyself ready for to take a fearful jour-
ney on the which thou needs must go." And
he, lamenting, said : " O cruel guide, that hast no
whit compassion on me ! thou dost see that I have
been well-nigh burnt up in this furnace, and still
thou dost wish to lead me on a parlous journey
and fearful ; " thereat the angel touched him, and
made him strong and whole. Anon he led him
to a bridge, which might not be crossed without
great peril ; for it was exceeding narrow and
slender, and very slippery, and had no rail withal ;
and below flowed a river terrible to see, full of
serpents, and dragons, and scorpions, and it sent
forth a stench exceeding great ; and the angel
said unto him : '' Pass over this bridge, for
assuredly thou needs must cross.'' He made
answer : " And how can I cross it, that I fall not
in this parlous stream ? " Quoth the angel :
" Walk thou behind me, and set thy foot where
thou shalt see that I set mine, and so shalt thou
safely cross over." So the brother crossed over
behind the angel, as he had instructed him, until
he came to the middle of the bridge ; and as he
was thus in the middle of the bridge, the angel
flew away : and departing from him, went to the
top of a very high mountain, far ofi'' on the other
side of the bridge ; and the brother marked well
the place whither the angel had flown ; but left
behind without a guide, and looking down below,
he saw those beasts so terrible standing with their
heads above the water and with open mouths,
readv to devour him should he fall ; and he was

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 8r

in such fear that he nowise knew what to do nor
what to say ; for neither could he turn back nor
go forward. Wherefore seeing himself in so great
tribulation, and that he had no refuge save in God,
he bowed himself down, and clasped the bridge
tight, and weeping committed himself to God with
all his heart, that of His most holy mercy He would
succour him. And done the prayer he seemed to
begin to put forth wings ; whereat with great joy
he waited that they should grow, so that he might
fly from off the bridge to the place where the angel
had flown. But after some time, through the great
desire he had to cross the bridge, he set himself to
fly ; but because the wings had not yet grown
enough, he fell down on the bridge and the feathers
dropped off: wherefore he clung again to the
bridge, and, as at the first, committed himself to
God ; and done the prayer, again he seemed
to put forth wings ; but, as at the first, he did not
wait till they were perfectly grown : so that, setting
himself to fly before the time, he fell back again
upon the bridge and the feathers dropped off.
Wherefore seeing that he fell for the haste that he
had to fly before the time, he began to say thus
within himself: *' Of a surety, if I shall put forth
wings yet the third time, I will wait until such
time as they have grown so large that I may fly
without falling down again." And while he
pondered these thoughts, he saw that for the third
time he was putting forth wings : and waiting a
long time until they were well grown, it seemed
to him that what with the first and the second
and the third putting fortblpf wings, he had waited

F

82 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

full a hundred and fifty years or more. At the
last he rose up the third time, and with ail his
force he took his flight and flew up, even to the
place whither the angel had flown ; and as he
knocked at the door of the palace where the angel
lay, the porter asked him : " Who art thou that
comest here ? " He answered : *' I am a brother
minor." Ouoth the porter : '* Wait here a while,
for I wish to bring S. Francis, for to see if he know
thee." As he went in quest of S. Francis, the
brother began to gaze on the marvellous walls of
that palace : and lo ! the walls appeared trans-
parent and of such clearness that he plainly saw
the choirs of saints and all that passed within.
And as he gazed upon this sight in deep amaze,
behold ! S. Francis came, and Brother Bernard,
and Brother Giles ; and after them so great a
multitude of saints and holy women that had
followed his ensample, that they seemed well-nigh
without number, and having won there, S. Francis
said to the porter : " Let him enter in, for he is
one of my brothers.'' And as soon as he had
entered, he felt such consolation and such sweet-
ness, that straightway he forgot all the tribulations
he had borne, as though they ne'er had been.
And then S. Francis, leading him within, showed
unto him many marvellous things, and thereafter
said unto him: ''My son, thou must needs
return unto the world again, and abide therein
seven days, in the which do thou diligently make
thee ready with great devotion ; for, after these
seven days, I shall come for thee, and then shalt
thou come with me unto this place of the blessed.*'

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 8*3

Now S. Francis was arrayed in a marvellous robe,
adorned with stars most beautiful : and his five
stigmata were like fiVQ stars, exceeding beautiful,
and of so great splendour that they lit up all the
palace with their rays. And Brother Bernard had
on his head a crown of stars most beautiful ; and
Brother Giles was adorned with a marvellous light ;
and many other holy brothers did he recognise
among them, whom in the world he had never seen.
Then taking leave of S. Francis, he returned, albeit
unwillingly, to the earth again. And when he
awoke, returning to himself and coming to his
senses again, the brothers were ringing for Prime :
so that he had not continued in that vision save
from Matins until Prime, albeit it seemed to him
he had continued many years. And having re-
counted to his guardian all this vision in order,
within the seven days he began to fall sick of a
fever ; and on the eighth day S. Francis came for
him, according to his promise, with a great multi-
tude of glorious saints, and conducted his soul
unto the Kingdom of the Blessed, to life eternal.

CHAPTER XXVII

How S. Francis converted in Bologna two scholars^ who
became brothers ; and how thereafter he delivered one
of them from a sore temptation

S. Francis coming on a time to the city of
Bologna, all the people of the city ran together to
see him ; and so great was the press that scarce
with great difficulty could the people reach the

84 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

square ; and the square being all full ot men
and of women and of scholars, S. Francis stood
high up in the midst of them, and began to
preach whatsoever the Holy Spirit taught him ;
and preached so marvellously that it seemed
rather that an angel was preaching than a man :
and his celestial words appeared even as sharp
arrows piercing the hearts of them that heard
him in such sort that in that preaching a great
multitude of men and women were converted into
penitence. Among the which were two students,
nobly born, from the March of Ancona ; and the
one was named Pellegrino, and the other Rinieri :
the which twain by divine inspiration touched in
the heart through the said preaching, came to S.
Francis, saying that they wished wholly to abandon
the world and be of the number of his brethren.
Then S. Francis, knowing by revelation that they
were sent of God, and that in the Order they would
lead a holy life, and noting their great fervour, re-
ceived them joyfully, saying : " Do thou, Pelle-
grino, live in the Order the life of humility, and
thou. Brother Rinieri, serve the brethren ; '' and
even so it was ; for Brother Pellegrino wished not
to live as a priest but as a lay brother, albeit he
was a great scholar and right learned in the canon
law ; through the which humility he attained unto
such great perfection of virtue, that Brother Ber-
nard, the first-born of S. Francis, said of him
that he was one of the most perfect brothers in
the world. And at the last, the said Brother
Pellegrino, full of virtue, passed from this miser-
able life unto the life of the blessed, and wrought

^'**^^-,

cy:y

Itti intij mrnls figtits ^mm^uur
pints a mrm ttuanr ks tómim
cutimttiotxt coti^ucsm (lyue
ttipuaumut^immr rnnwins

fttfumr
fiimm
tómt la

Wv •

Intn pDU m%ies aii.:x;r3^att i^iJtm
aast t^i^g:ato. ton tcmp^ mmmt
Ctt ìHimt t m^ It cowsai Mtciftr
It maialnt ^ It mim tót^ìtmt eii au
tic tome firiml ^tumm iaawQilt

quii fii |]^ Ittftmfms ^ 61» mi0

S. FkANCIS I'KKACIflNO
(From a MS. in the British Micsenm. See List of I Ibistrations)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI ^5

many miracles before his death and thereafter.
And the said Brother Rinieri devoutly and faith-
fully served the brethren, dwelling in great sanctity
and humility : and he became S. Francis* close
familiar friend. Being afterwards made minister
of the province of the March of Ancona, he ruled
it for a long time with the utmost peace and
discretion. A while after, God suffered a very
grievous temptation to arise within his soul : and
he, being in anguish and tribulation thereby,
afflicted himself with fasts, with scourgings, with
tears and prayers, both day and night : but for all
that he could not rid him of that temptation ; but
oftentimes abode in great despair, sith he deemed
himself thereby abandoned of God. While he was
in such despair, as a last remedy he minded to
go to S. Francis, thinking thus within himself:
'* If S. Francis will look kindly on me, and show
himself mine own familiar friend, as is his wont,
I believe that God will yet have pity on me : but
if not, it will be a sign that I shall be abandoned
by God." So he set out and came to S. Francis,
who at that time lay grievously sick in the palace
of the bishop of Assisi ; and God revealed unto
him all the manner of the temptation and the
despair of the said brother Rinieri, and of his
purpose and his coming. And straightway S. Fran-
cis called Brother Leo and Brother Masseo, and
said unto them : " Go ye out at once to meet my
little son, most dear to me. Brother Rinieri, and
embrace him on my behalf and salute him, and
tell him that among all the brothers that are in the
world I love him with especial love." So they

86 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

went, and found Brother Rinieri on the way, and
embraced him, saying unto him whatsoever S.
Francis had bidden them say. Whereby such
consolation and sweetness filled his soul that he
was as one beside himself: and giving thanks to
God with all his heart, he went on and came to
the place where S. Francis lay sick. And albeit
S. Francis was grievously sick, yet when he heard
that Brother Rinieri was coming, he got up and
went to meet him, and embraced him very sweetly,
and said : '* My little son, most dear to me,
Brother Rinieri, among all the brothers that are
in the world, I love thee, I love thee with especial
love." And this said, he made the sign of the
most holy cross upon his brow, and kissed him
thereon ; and bespake him again : *' My little son,
most dear, God hath suffered this temptation to
assail thee for thy great gain in merit, but if thou
no more desire this gain, then let it be.*' O
marvel ! as soon as S. Francis had said these words,
incontinent departed from him all temptation, as
though in all his life he had felt it not a whit,
and he remained altogether comforted.

CHAPTER XXVITI

Of an ecstasy that came to Brother Bernard ; zvhereby he
abode from morning until NoneSy so that of himself he
was not ware

What great favour God oftentimes bestowed on
the poor followers of the Gospel, who left the
world for the love of Christ, is shown forth in

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 87

Brother Bernard of Quintavalle, who, after he had
taken the habit of S. Francis, was ofttimes rapt in
God through contemplation of heavenly things.
Among others it befell that on a time, while he
was in church for to hear the Mass, with his whole
mind uplifted unto God, he became so rapt and so
absorbed in God that, when the Body of Christ
was elevated, he saw nothing at all, nor kneeled
him down, nor drew back his hood, as the others
did ; but without movement of his eyes, with gaze
fast fixed, he stood from morning until Nones, not
heeding aught ; and after Nones returning to him-
self again, he went through the House crying with
a voice of glad surprise : " O brothers! O brothers !
O brothers ! there is no man in this land so great
or so nobly born who, if there were promised to
him a beauteous palace full of gold, would not
gladly carry a sackful of dung for to gain so noble
a treasure.'* Unto this heavenly treasure, promised
unto them that love God, the said Brother Bernard
had his mind so uplifted, that for fifteen years con-
tinuously he went always with his mind and his
face upraised to heaven; in the which time he never
stayed his hunger at the table, though he ate of
that which was set before him, a little : for he said
that none could practise perfect abstinence from
that whereof he did not taste, but true abstinence
is the being temperate in those things that taste
pleasant to the mouth ; and thereby did he attain
unto such brightness and light of intelligence, that
even the great clerics had recourse unto him for
the resolving of deep questions and interpreting of
difficult passages of the Scripture; and he dissolved

88 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

every doubt for them. And because his mind was
wholly free and abstracted from the things of earth,
he, like the swallows, flew high up through con-
templation : wherefore at one time for twenty days,
at another time for thirty days, he remained alone
on the tops of the highest mountains, contemplat-
ing heavenly things. For the which cause Brother
Giles said of him that unto no other men had been
given this gift that was given to Brother Bernard
of Quintavalle ; to wit, that he fed flying like the
swallows : and for this excellent grace that he re-
ceived of God, S. Francis right willingly spake with
him oftentimes by day and night : whereby were
they sometimes found together rapt in God the
whole night long in the wood, wherein they twain
had met to speak of God together.

CHAPTER XXIX

How the devil appeared many times unto Brother Ruffino in
the form of the Crucified^ telling him that all the good
he did zuas lost, since he was not a?no?ig those elect to
life eternal. IVhereof S. Francis was ware through
revelation from Gody and ?nade Brother Ruffino to know
his error in lending credence thereto

Brother Ruffino, one of the most noble citizens
of Assisi and a companion of S. Francis, a man
of great sanctity, was on a time most grievously
assailed and tempted in his soul, in respect of pre-
destination ; whereby he became altogether melan-
choly and sad ; for the devil put it into his heart
that he was damned and was not of those pre-

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 89

destined to eternal life ; and that all that he did
in the Order was lost. And this temptation con-
tinuing day by day, he for shame told it not to
S. Francis, yet ceased not to observe the wonted
prayers and fasts : wherefore the enemy began to
heap on him sorrow upon sorrow, over and above
the battle within, assaulting him also from without
with lying apparitions. Wherefore on a time he
appeared to him in the form of the Crucified, and
said to him : '' O Brother Ruffino, why dost thou
afflict thyself in penance and in prayer, seeing that
thou art not among those predestined to eternal
life? and believe me that I know whom I have
elected and predestined, and believe not the son of
Peter Bernardoni, if he tell thee the contrary, nor
question him concerning this matter, for neither he
nor others know, save I alone, who am the Son of
God : wherefore believe me of a surety that thou
art of the number of the damned : and the son of
Peter Bernardoni, thy Father, and also his father
are damned, and whoso follows him is led astray."
And said these words, Brother Ruffino began to
be so overshadowed by the prince of darkness that
he lost all the faith and love he had had for S.
Francis, and took no care to tell him aught thereof.
But that which Brother Ruffino did not tell the
holy father, the Holy Spirit revealed to him :
wherefore S. Francis, seeing in spirit the great
danger of the said brother, sent Brother Masseo
to call him ; whom Brother Ruffino answered
chidingly : "What have I to do with Brother
Francis.?" Then Brother Masseo, all filled with
divine wisdom, perceiving the deception of the

90 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

devil, said : "O Brother Ruffino, knowest thou not
that Brother Francis is as an angel of God, who
hath enlightened so many souls in the world, and
through whom we have received the grace of God?
wherefore I will that thou by all means come with
me to him ; for I clearly see that thou art deceived
by the devil." And this said, Brother Ruffino
arose and went to S. Francis, and S. Francis seeing
him coming from afar off, began to cry out : '' O
thou miserable Brother Ruffino, in whom hast thou
believed ? " And when Brother Ruffino was come
up to him, S. Francis recounted to him in order all
the temptation that he had had of the devil within
and without, and showed him clearly that what had
appeared to him was the devil and not Christ, and
that he ought in no wise toconsent unto his prompt-
ings: "But when the devil should say to thee again:
' Thou art damned,' do thou answer : ' Open thy
mouth, for I fain would void on thee,' and this
shall be to thee the sign that he is the devil and
not Christ ; for as soon as thou shalt give him this
answer, he will flee away incontinent. Moreover by
this token shouldst thou have known that he was
the devil and not Christ, in that he hardened thy
heart to all goodness, the which thing is his own
proper office ; but Christ, the blessed One, never
hardeneth the heart of the faithful, nay, rather He
softeneth it, as He saith by the mouth of the pro-
phet : * I will take away the stony heart and I will
give you a heart of flesh.' " Then Brother Ruffino,
seeing that S. Francis told him in order all the
manner of his temptation, touched to the heart by
his words, began to weep bitterly, and fell down

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 91-

before S. Francis and humbly confessed his fault
in having kept his temptation hidden. And thus
he abode altogether consoled and comforted by
the admonishments of the holy father, and wholly
changed for the better. Then at the last S. Francis
said unto him: ''Go, my little son, and shrive thee,
and relax not the zeal of thy wonted prayers : and
know of a surety that this temptation v/ill bring to
thee great profit and consolation, and very shortly
shalt thou prove it." So Brother Ruffino returned
to his cell in the wood, and continuing in prayer
with many tears, behold ! the enemy came to him
in the form of Christ, as to outward semblance,
and said to him : " O Brother Ruflino, have I not
told thee that thou shouldest not believe the son
of Peter Bernardoni, nor shouldest weary thyself in
tears and prayers, seeing that thou art damned ?
What doth it profit thee to afflict thyself while yet
alive, and then when thou shalt die thou wilt be
damned.^" And straightway Brother Ruffino made
answer to the devil : " Open thy mouth, for I fain
would void on thee." Whereat the devil being
exceeding wroth, gat him away incontinent with
so furious a tempest and shaking of the rocks of
Mount Subassio, which was hard by, that the loud
noise of the rocks that fell down lasted a great
while ; and so furiously did they strike the one
against the other as they rolled down, that the
valley was lit up with horrible flashes of fire : and
at the terrible din that they made, S. Francis and
his companions came out of the House, in great
amazement, for to see what strange thing had be-
fallen ; and still to this day is seen that exceeding

92 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

great ruin of rocks. Then Brother Ruffino knew
of a surety that it had been the devil that had
deceived him. And going back to S. Francis, he
threw himself again upon the ground, and confessed
his fault; and S. Francis comforted him with sweet
words, and sent him back full of consolation to
his cell, wherein as he was most devoutly praying,
there appeared to him Christ, the blessed One, and
rekindled all his soul with love divine, and said :
" Thou hast done well, my son, to believe in
Brother Francis, for he that made thee sad was the
devil : but I am Christ thy Master ; and to make
thee sure thereof, 1 give thee this sign: Whilst thou
dost live, thou shalt no more feel sadness nor melan-
choly." And this said, Christ departed, leaving
him in such gladness and sweetness of spirit and
uplifting of the mind, that day and night he was
absorbed and rapt in God. And from that time
forth he was so strengthened in grace and in cer-
tainty of his salvation, that he became altogether
changed into another man ; and would have con-
tinued day and night in prayer and in contempla-
tion of the things of God, if the others had suffered
him. Wherefore S. Francis said of him : that
Brother Ruffino was in this life canonised by Christ,
and that, save in his presence, he would not doubt
to call him S. Ruffino, albeit he was still alive on
earth.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 93

CHAPTER XXX

Of the beautiful sermon preached in Assisi by S, Francis
and Brother Ruffino.

The aforesaid Brother Ruffino, through continual
contemplation, was so absorbed in God, that he
became as it were insensible and dumb, spake but
seldom, and therewithal had neither the gift of
preaching, nor boldness nor eloquence therein ;
nevertheless S. Francis on a time bade him go to
Assisi and preach to the people whatsoever God
might inspire him withal. Wherefore Brother
Ruffino answered : ^' Reverend father, I pray thee
pardon me and send me not ; for, as thou wottest,
I have not the gift of preaching, but am simple
and ignorant." Then quoth S. Francis: "Seeing
that thou hast not obeyed incontinent, I command
thee by holy obedience that thou get thee to Assisi
naked as thou wast born, save in thy breeches
only, and enter into a church and preach unto
the people." At this command, the said Brother
Ruffino stripped himself and went to Assisi and
entered into a church, and having done reverence
to the altar went up into the pulpit and began to
preach ; for the which cause the children and the
men began to laugh, and said : '* Now look you
how these fellows do so much penance that they
become fools and are beside themselves." Mean-
time, S. Francis, bethinking him of the ready obedi-
ence of Brother Ruffino, the which was one of the
most n(jble gentles of Assisi, and of the hard com-

94 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

mandment he had laid upon him, began to chide
himself, saying: *' Whence comes to thee such bold-
ness, thou son of Peter Bernardoni, vile wretch, to
command Brother Ruffino, that is one of the most
noble gentles of Assisi, to go and preach to the
people like a madman ? By God, thou shalt have
proof in thine own self of what thou biddest others
do." And straightway in fervour of spirit he
stripped himself in like fashion, and set out for
Assisi, and took with him Brother Leo to carry
his habit and that of Brother Ruffino. And the
folk of Assisi beholding him in the self-same guise,
made mock of him, deeming that he and Brother
Ruffino had grown mad throughovermuch penance.
S. Francis entered into the church where Brother
Ruffino was preaching these words : " Dearly be-
loved, flee from the world and put away sin ; render
to others their due, if ye would escape from hell ;
follow the commandments of God, in loving God
and your neighbour, if ye would go to heaven ;
do penance, if ye would possess the kingdom of
heaven." Then S. Francis went up into the pulpit,
and began to preach so marvellously of the con-
tempt of the world, of holy penitence, of voluntary
poverty, and of the desire of the kingdom of
heaven, and of the nakedness and shame of the
passion of our Lord Jesu Christ, that all they that
heard the preaching, men and women in great
multitude, began to weep most bitterly with devout
and contrite hearts ; and not there alone, but in
all Assisi was there that day such weeping for the
passion of Christ, that never had there been the
like. And the people being thuswise edified and

THK CKUCIFIXION WITH SS. liENElJlC I', ANTHONY', FKANCfS AND CI. ARE
(After the tempera panel hy Tiberio d'Assisi in the I^ower Cliuvcli of S. Francesco at Assisi)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 95

comforted by this act of S. Francis and Brother
Ruffino, S. Francis re-clad Brother Ruffino and
himself; and so re-clad, they returned to the House
of Portiuncula, praising and glorifying God, that
had given them grace to overcome themselves, by
the contemptfof themselves, and to edify the little
sheep of Christ by good example, and to show how
greatly the world is to be despised. And on that
day so much did the devotion of the people towards
them increase, that he deemed himself blessed
whoso could touch the hem of their garment.

CHAPTER XXXI

How S. Francis knew the secrets of the consciences of
all his brothers in order.

Even as our Lord Jesu Christ says in the Gospel :
'' I know my sheep, and am known of mine ; "
even so the blessed father S. Francis, like a good
shepherd, knew by divine revelation all the merits
and the virtues of his companions, and in like
manner their faults also. For the which cause he
knew how to provide the best remedy for each, to
wit, humbling the proud, and exalting the humble ;
reproving vice, and praising virtue ; even as we
read in the wondrous revelations that he had con-
cerning his first family. Among the which we find
that on a time when S. Francis was with the said
family in a certain House discoursing of God,
Brother Ruffino not being with them during this
discourse but rapt in contemplation in the wood ;

96 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

while they continued thus to discourse of God,
behold Brother Ruffino came from out the wood
and passed by at a stone's throw from them. Then
S. Francis, beholding him, turned to his companions,
and asked them, saying: **Whom think ye to be
the holiest soul God hath in the world ? " And
they answering him, said that they thought it was
his own ; and S. Francis said unto them : '' My
brothers most dear to me, I am of myself the most
unworthy and vile wretch that God hath in this
world, but mark ye Brother Ruffino yonder, that
hath now come from out the wood ? God hath re-
vealed it unto me that his soul is one of the three
most holy souls in all the world : and in very sooth
I tell you that I doubt not to call him Saint Ruffino
in his lifetime, sith his soul is so strengthened in
grace, and sanctified and canonised in heaven, by
our Lord Jesu Christ ;" but these words S. Francis
never spake in the presence of the said Brother
Ruffino. In like manner, how S. Francis knew the
faults of his brothers, is clearly seen in the case of
Brother Elias, whom he ofttimes reproved for his
pride ; and of Brother John of the Chapel, to whom
he foretold that he would hang himself by the
throat ; and of that brother, whom the devil held
fast by the throat when he was chid for disobedi-
ence : and of many other brothers, whose secret
faults and virtues he clearly knew through the
revelation of Christ.

!

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 97

CHAPTER XXXII

How Brother Masseo obtained of Christ the virtue
of his humility

The first companions of S. Francis strove with all
their might to be poor in the things of the world
and rich in virtues, through the which men attain
unto the true riches that are heavenly and eternal.
It befell on a day that being gathered together
to speak of God, one among them related this
example : There was a man that was a dear friend
of God, and had great grace in the active and con-
templative life, and therewithal had such exceed-
ing deep humility that he deemed himself the
greatest of sinners : the which humility did sanctify
him and strengthen him in grace, and made him
continually to grow in virtue and in the gifts of
God, and suffered him never to fall into sin. Now
Brother Masseo hearing such marvellous things
touching humility, and knowing full well that it
was a treasure of eternal life, began to be so in-
flamed with love and desire for this virtue of
humility, that with great fervour lifting up his face
to heaven, he made a vow and firm resolve never
to be joyful in this world again, until such time
as he should feel this virtue in his soul in all
perfectness ; and from thenceforward he abode
well-nigh continuously shut up within his cell mor-
tifying his body with fasts, and vigils, and prayers,
and weeping exceedingly before God, for to obtain
of Him this virtue, without the which he deemed

G

98 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

him worthy of hell, and wherewith that friend of
God, of whom he had heard, had been so richly
dowered. And as Brother Masseo continued for
many days in this desire, it befell on a day that he
went into the wood, and in fervour of spirit passed
through it with tears and cries and sighing, calling
with fervent desire on God for this heavenly virtue ;
and for that God gladly heareth the prayers of
humble contrite souls, while Brother Masseo was
in this case, there came a voice from heaven that
called him twice : '' Brother Masseo, Brother
Masseo/' And he knowing in spirit that it was
the voice of Christ, answered : " Speak, Lord."
And Christ said unto him : " What wouldest thou
give, for to gain the grace thou askest for ? "
Replied Brother Masseo : '' Lord, I would give the
eyes of my head." And Christ said unto him :
" And it is My will that thou have the grace and
thine eyes also." And this said, the voice ceased,
and Brother Masseo remained so filled with the
grace of the virtue of humility he had longed for,
and of the light of God, that from thenceforward
he was always joyful and glad ; and ofttimes, when
he prayed, he would break forth into sounds of joy,
cooing like a dove, U U U ; and he abode thus in
contemplation with a cheerful countenance and a
merry heart ; and therewithal, having become ex-
ceeding humble, he deemed himself the least of all
men upon earth. When Brother Jacques of Fal-
lerone asked him why in his song of joy he never
changed his note, he blithely answered him, that
when one thing brings us full content, there is no
need to change the note.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 99

CHAPTER XXXIII

How S. C/arey at the bidding of the Pope^ blessed the bread
that was on the table : so that on every loaf appeared
the sign of the holy Cross

S. Clare, the most devout disciple of the Cross
of Christ and noble plant of S. Francis, was of
such sanctity, that not only the bishops and the
cardinals, but the Pope likewise ardently desired
to see and hear her, and ofttimes visited her in
person. Among" other times, the holy Father
came on a time to her convent to hear her speak
of things celestial and divine ; and as they thus
discoursed together on diverse matters, S. Clare
in the meantime let make ready the tables, and set
the bread thereon, that the holy Father might
bless it. So when their spiritual discourse was
ended, S. Clare, kneeling down with great rever-
ence, besought him that he would be pleased to
bless the bread set on the table. Replied the holy
Father : "" Sister Clare, most faithful, I desire that
thou bless this bread and make thereon the sign
of the most holy Cross of Christ, to whom thou
hast wholly given thyself." Quoth S. Clare :
'' Most holy Father, pardon me, seeing that 1
should be deserving of much blame, if I, that am
a poor, vile woman, should take on me to give
this blessing, before the Vicar of Christ." And
the Pope replied : *' To the end that this may
not be imputed to presumption but to the merit
of obedience, I command thee by holy obedience

loo THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

that thou make the sign of the most holy Cross
on this bread, and bless it in the name of God."
Then S. Clare, like a true daughter of obedience,
most devoutly blessed those loaves with the sign
of the most holy Cross. O marvel ! incontinent
on all those loaves appeared the sign of the Cross
impressed most fair to see : then of those loaves,
part were eaten, and part for the miracle's sake
were put aside. And the holy Father, when he
had beheld the miracle, took of the said bread, and
giving thanks to God, departed, leaving S. Clare
with his blessing. Now at that time there dwelt
in the convent Sister Ortolana, the mother of S.
Clare, and Sister Agnes, her sister, they twain to-
gether with S. Clare, full of virtue and of the Holy
Spirit, and many other holy nuns ; to whom S.
Francis sent many sick persons ; and they by their
prayers and the sign of the most holy Cross re-
stored them all to health.

CHAPTER XXXIV

How S. Louisy King of France^ went in person, in the guise
of a pilgrim, to Perugia for to visit the holy Brother
Giles

S. Louis, King of France, went on a pilgrimage
to visit the holy places throughout the world ;
and hearing the exceeding great fame of the sanc-
tity of Brother Giles, the which had been among
the first companions of S. Francis, he set it in
his heart and was fully purposed to visit him in

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI loi

person ; for the which cause he came unto Perugia,
where in those days the said Brother Giles dwelt.
And coming up to the door of the House of the
brothers, like a poor pilgrim and unknown, with
few companions, he asked with great earnestness
for Brother Giles, without telling the porter who
it was that asked. So the porter went to Brother
Giles and told him that at the door was a pilgrim
that asked for him : and being inspired of God, it
was revealed to him that it was the King of France :
so straightway with great fervour he left his cell
and ran to the door ; and without further ques-
tioning, albeit they ne'er before had seen each
other, kneeling down with great devotion they
embraced and kissed each other, with such signs
of tender love as though for long time they had
been close, familiar friends : but for all that, they
spoke not, nor the one nor the other, but con-
tinued in this embrace, with these signs of love
and tenderness, in silence. And whenas they had
a long time continued together in the manner set
forth above without having spoken together, they
parted the one from the other, and S. Louis went
his way on his journey, and Brother Giles re-
turned unto his cell. When the king was gone, a
certain brother asked one of his companions who
it was that had embraced Brother Giles for so
long time ; and he replied that it was Louis, King
of France, who had come for to see Brother Giles.
When this he told to the other brothers, they
were exceeding sorrowful for that Brother Giles
had spoken never a word to him : and murmuring
thereat, they said to him : *' O Brother Giles, why

I02 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

hast thou shown thee so discourteous as to say
naught at all to so holy a king that had come
from France to see thee and hear from thy lips
good words." Replied Brother Giles : " Dear
brothers, marvel not thereat, for neither I to him
nor he to me could speak a word ; sith so soon
as we embraced each other, the light of heavenly
wisdom revealed and showed to me his heart, and
mine to him, and thus through divine working,
each looking on the other's heart, we knew what
I would say to him and he to me, far better than
if we had spoken with our mouths, and with more
consolation than if we had sought to show forth
in words the feelings of our hearts. Through the
weakness of human speech, that cannot express
clearly the secret mysteries of God, it would
have left us all disconsolate rather than consoled ;
wherefore know ye that the king departed from
me with marvellous content and consolation in
his soul."

CHAPTER XXXV

How S, Ciare^ being sick^ zuas miraculously carried^ on the
night of Christmas Eve^ to the church of S. Francis and
there heard the office

It befell on a time that S. Clare was grievously
sick, so that she could not go at all to say the
office in church with the other nuns ; when the
feast of the Nativity of Christ came round, all
the others went to Matins : but she remained in

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 103

her bed ill-content, for that she could not go
with the others and partake of that spiritual con-
solation. But Jesu Christ, her spouse, desiring
not to leave her thus disconsolate, caused her
to be miraculously carried to the church of S.
Francis and to be present at the whole of the
office of Matins and the midnight Mass, and be-
yond all this to receive the Holy Communion
and then be carried back to her bed. When the
nuns came back to S. Clare, after the office in S.
Damian's was over, they said to her : " O our
mother, Sister Clare, what sweet consolation have
we had on this holy feast of the Nativity ! oh,
would that it had pleased God that you had
been with us there ! " And S. Clare replied :
*' Praise and glory do I give unto our Lord Jesu
Christ, the blessed One, my sisters and daughters
most dear ; for that with much consolation to
my soul I have had part in all the solemn rites of
this most holy night, and even more than ye :
sith through the loving care of my father, S.
Francis, and the grace of our Lord Jesu Christ,
I have been present in the church of my vener-
able father, S. Francis, and with the ears of my
body and my mind have heard all the office and
the sound of the organs that was made there, and
in the same place have taken the most holy Com-
munion. Wherefore for such grace bestowed
upon me rejoice and give thanks to our Lord
Jesu Christ."

I04 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

CHAPTER XXXVI

How S. Francis set forth unto Brother Leo a fair
dream that he had seen

It befell on a time that S. Francis was grievously
sick and Brother Leo did him service ; the said
Brother Leo, whilst praying close to S. Francis,
was rapt in ecstasy, and borne in spirit to a
mighty river, broad and rushing furiously. And
as he stood there for to see who crossed over it,
he beheld certain brothers enter into the river,
with loads upon their back ; the which were
straightway thrown down by the force of the
stream and were drowned ; but certain others
went as far as a third of the way over ; others,
as far as the middle of the stream ; some nearly
to the other bank ; but in the end they all fell
down and were drowned. Seeing this, Brother
Leo had exceeding great compassion on them :
and meanwhile lo ! there came suddenly a great
multitude of brothers that had on their backs no
load or burden of any kind and the light of holy
poverty shone upon them ; and they entered into
the stream and passed over without any peril ;
and when he had seen this, Brother Leo came
back to himself again. Then S. Francis perceiv-
ing in spirit that Brother Leo had seen a vision,
called him unto him and questioned him concern-
ing what he had seen : and whenas Brother Leo
had told him all the vision in order, quoth S.
Francis : '' That which thou hast seen is true.

/>f>U//'-//ii

•>. IR\N( l>
(Chitixh o/ S. Antonio, I'udna)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 105

The great river is this world ; the brothers that
were drowned in the river are they that remained
not true to their profession of the gospel life,
and chief above all to that of the deepest poverty ;
but they that without peril passed over are those
brothers that neither seek nor possess in this world
aught that is earthly or carnal, but being temper-
ate in clothing and in food, are content therewith,
following Christ naked upon the cross ; and with
gladness and right good will do they bear the
burden and sweet yoke of Christ and of most holy
obedience ; wherefore they pass with ease from
this temporal life to life eternal."

CHAPTER XXXVII

How Jesu Christy the blessed One, at the prayer of S.
Francis, let convert a rich and gentle knight and become a
brother, the which had shown great honour and liberality
unto S, Francis

S. Francis, the servant of Christ, coming late one
evening to the house of a great gentleman and
powerful, was received of him to lodge therein,
both he and his companion, as if they were angels
of God, with exceeding great courtesy and de-
votion : for the which cause S. Francis was greatly
touched with love for him, bethinking him how at
their coming into the house he had embraced and
kissed them lovingly, and then had washed their
feet and wiped and humbly kissed them, and had
kindled a great fire and made ready the table with
much good food, and whilst they ate, he served

io6 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

them always with a joyful countenance. Now,
when that S. Francis and his companion had eaten,
this gentleman said : " Behold, my father, I offer
to thee myself and all my goods ; so oft as ye have
need of tunic or mantle or aught beside, buy them
and I will pay for them ; and behold, I am ready
to provide your every need, since by the grace of
God am I able, seeing that I abound in all temporal
goods ; and therefore, for the love of God, that
hath given them me, I do good unto His poor right
willingly." Whereby S. Francis, seeing in him such
gentle courtesy and loving-kindness, and so liberal
an offering, conceived in his heart such love towards
him, that departing thence he said to his companion
on the way : " Of a truth this courteous gentle-
man would be good for our order and our company,
the which is so grateful and bounden unto God,
and so loving and courteous to his neighbour and
the poor. Know, dear brother, that courtesy is
one of the qualities of God Himself, who, of His
courtesy, giveth His sun and His rain to the just
and the unjust : and courtesy is the sister of charity,
the which quencheth hate and keepeth love alive.
Because I have seen such divine virtue in this good
man, fain would I have him as my companion ;
and therefore I desire that one day we return to
him again, if perchance God may have touched his
heart to desire to go about with us in the service
of God ; and in this mean time let us pray to God
to put this desire within his heart, and give him
grace to bring the same to good effect.'' O
wondrous thing ! a few days after that S. Francis
had made this prayer, God put this desire into the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 107

heart of that gentleman : and quoth S. Francis to
his companion: *'Let us go, my brother, to the
house of that courteous gentleman ; for that I have
sure hope in God that with the same courtesy as
he hath in temporal things he will give himself up
to us and will become our companion ; " so they
gat them on their way. And when they drew
near unto his house, S. Francis said to his com-
panion : " Wait here for me a little while, for I
fain would first pray to God that He may prosper
our journey ; that Jesu Christ may be pleased to
grant us, weak and poor though we be, the noble
prey that we mind to snatch from the world,
through the virtue of His most holy passion."
And this said, he set himself to pray in a place
where he could be seen by the said courteous
gentleman ; whereby, sith it was the will of God,
as he was looking hither and thither, he beheld
S. Francis praying most devoutly before Christ,
who with a great brightness appeared to him in
the aforesaid prayer and stood before him ; and the
while he saw S. Francis for some good space up-
lifted bodily from off the earth. For the which
cause he was so touched and inspired of God to
leave the world, that incontinent he came forth
out of his palace and ran towards S. Francis ! and
coming up to him as he was at prayer, he kneeled
down at his feet, and with exceeding great fervour
and devotion besought him that it would please
him to receive him and to do penance together with
him. Then S. Francis, seeing his prayer was heard
of God, and that that which he himself desired,
this gentleman was begging for most earnestly.

io8 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

lifted him up, and in fervour and gladness of spirit
embraced and kissed him, devoutly giving thanks
to God, who had added so worthy a knight unto
his company. And quoth that gentleman to S.
Francis : *' What dost thou bid me do, my Father ?
Lo ! I am ready to do thy bidding and give to the
poor whatsoever I possess, and thus disburthened
of all temporal things, to follow Christ with thee/'
And even so he did, according to the counsel of
S. Francis, distributing all that he had to the poor,
and entered into the Order, and lived in great
penitence and holiness of life and upright con-
versation.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

How S, Francis anew in spirit that Brother Elias was
damned^ and would die outside the Order ; wherefore
at the supplication of Brother Elias, he prayed to Christ
for him, and his prayer was heard

It befell on a time while S. Francis and Brother
Elias were dwelling together in the same House,
that it was revealed of God unto S. Francis that
Brother Elias was damned and would fall away
from the Order, and in the end die outside the
Order. For the which cause S. Francis took so
strong a displeasure against him that he nor spake
nor held converse with him ; and if at any time it
befell that Brother Elias came towards him, he
would turn aside and go another way, so that he
might not meet him ; wherefore Brother Elias began
to see and to understand that S. Francis was dis-
pleased with him : so, desiring to know the reason

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 109

thereof, he drew near to S. Francis for to speak
with him, and when S. Francis sought to shun
Brother Ehas, in courteous wise he detained him
by force, and began with modesty to pray him to
be pleased to show to him the reason why he thus-
wise shunned his company and to have speech with
him. And S. Francis answered him : *' The reason
is this ; since it hath been revealed to me by God
that thou for thy sins wilt fall away from the Order
and die outside the Order, and also hath God re-
vealed to me that thou art damned." Hearing
this. Brother Elias spake thus to him : " My
reverend father, I pray thee for the love of Jesu
Christ that thou shun me not on this account nor
drive me from thee, but like a good shepherd,
following the example of Christ, seek out the sheep
that needs must perish if thou help it not, and
take it to thyself again ; and pray unto God for
me, that, if it be possible. He may revoke the
sentence of my damnation ; for it is written that
God lets change the sentence, if the sinner amends
his sin : and I have so great faith in thy prayers
that, were I in the midst of hell and thou wert to
pray to God for me, I should feel some sweet relief ;
wherefore again I pray thee to commend me, poor
sinner, unto God, who came into the world to save
sinners, that He may receive me into His mercy."
And this did Brother Elias speak with much de-
votion and tears : so that S. Francis, like a pitying
father, promised him to pray to God for him, and
even so he did. And as with exceeding great de-
votion he prayed to God for him, he learned by
revelation that his prayer was heard of God, as

no THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

touching the sentence of damnation on Brother
Elias, so that at the last his soul would not be
damned ; but that of a surety he would leave the
Order, and outside the Order he would die ; and
even so it came to pass. For Frederick, King of
Sicily, having rebelled against the Church and being
excommunicated by the Pope (both he and whoso
gave him aid and counsel), — the said Brother Elias,
the which was accounted one of the most learned
men in the world, being called by the said King
Frederick, joined himself unto him, and became a
rebel against the Church and an apostate from the
Order : for the which cause was he excommuni-
cated by the Pope and the habit of S. Francis taken
from him. And while he thus was excommunicate
and grievously sick, one of his brethren, a lay
brother, the which had remained within the Order
and was a man of good and virtuous life, hearing
of his sickness, came to visit him, and among other
things bespake him thus : '' My brother, most dear,
much doth it grieve me that thou art excommuni-
cate and outcast from thine Order, and that thus-
wise thou shouldest die : but if thou dost see or
way or manner by the which I may pluck thee out
of this peril, right gladly would I take all manner
of pains for thee." Replied Brother Elias : " My
brother, I see no other way save that thou get thee
to the Pope, and pray him for the love of God
and of S. Francis, His servant, through whose ad-
monishments I left the world, to absolve me from
his excommunication, and give back to me again
the habit of Religion." Then said that brother
that right gladly would he do his best endeavours

Dditalelli'

S. ANTONY OK l'A[)UA
(Church o/ S. Antonio, Paihca)

Alinari

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI iii

for his salvation : and departing from him, he gat
him to the feet of the holy Pope, humbly beseech-
ing him to pardon his brother, for the love of
Christ and of S. Francis, His servant. And sith
it was God's good pleasure, the Pope granted him
leave to go back again, and if he found Brother
Elias alive, absolve him, in his name, from the ex-
communication and give the habit back to him
again. Wherefore he set out right joyously, and
in great haste returned to Brother Elias, and found
him still alive, but well-nigh at the point of death,
and so he absolved him from the excommunica-
tion ; and putting on the habit again, Brother
Elias passed from out this life, and his soul was
saved through the merits of S. Francis and through
his prayer, in the which Brother Elias had set such
lively hope.

CHAPTER XXXIX

Of the marvellous sermon that the Brother Alinor^S. Antony
of Padua y preached in the cojisistory

That marvellous vessel of the Holy Spirit, S.
Antony of Padua, one of the chosen disciples and
the companion of S. Francis, whom S. Francis
called his vicar, preached on a time in the con-
sistory before the Pope and the cardinals, in the
which consistory were men of diverse nations, to
wit, Greeks, Latins, French, Germans and Slavs,
and English, and of other diverse languages of
the world ; and being kindled by the Holy Spirit,
he set forth to them the word of God so forcibly,

112 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

so devoutly, so subtly, so sweetly, so clearly, and
so learnedly, that all they that were in the con-
sistory, albeit they were of diverse languages, full
clearly understood his every word, as distinctly as
if he had spoken in the language of each one of
them ; and they were all amazed, and it seemed
as though that ancient miracle of the Apostles
at the time of Pentecost had been renewed, the
which through the virtue of the Holy Spirit spake
in every tongue ; and they spake together one
with the other marvelling : " Is he not of Spain,
this preacher ? and how then do we all hear in
his speech the language of our countries? " The
Pope in like manner pondering and marvelling at
the deep meaning ^of his words, said : '' Of a
truth, this man is the ark of the Testament and
the armoury of Holy Writ/'

CHAPTER XL

Of the miracle which God wrought when S, Antony^ being
at Riminiy preached to the fishes of the sea

The blessed Christ, desiring to set forth the great
sanctity of his most faithful servant, S. Antony,
with what devotion men should give ear unto his
preaching and his holy doctrine, once on a time,
amongst others, reproved the folly of the infidel
heretics by means of the animals that have no
reason, to wit, by the fishes, even as in old time in
the Old Testament he had reproved the ignorance
of Balaam by the mouth of the ass. Wherefore

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 113

a day S. Antony being in Rimini, where was great
company of heretics, desiring to bring them back
to the light of the true faith and to the path of
virtue, preached unto them for many days, and
disputed of the faith of Christ and of the Holy
Scripture : but they not only gave no consent unto
his holy words, but therewithal, as men hardened
and stiff-necked, would give no ear unto him.
Inspired of God, S. Antony went one day to the
river-side hard by the sea ; and standing thus upon
the bank betwixt the river and the sea, began to
speak after the manner of a preacher sent by God
unto the fishes : " Hear the word of God, O ye
fishes of the sea and of the river, since the infidel
heretics refuse to hear it." And when he had
thus spoken, forthwith there came unto him to
the bank a multitude of fishes, great and small
and what between, that never in that sea nor in
that river had been seen so great a multitude ; and
they all held up their heads above the water and
all stood attentive towards the face of S. Antony,
one and all in much great peace and gentleness and
order ; for in front and more a- nigh the bank stood
the smaller fish, and behind them stood the fish of
middle size, further behind where deeper water was
the greater fishes stood. Therewith the fishes being
thuswise set in order and array, S. Antony began
solemnly to preach, and so spake : " My brothers
the fish, much are ye bounden so far as in ye lies,
to give thanks to our Creator, who hath given you
so noble an element for your abode ; in such sort
that as it pleaseth you, ye have sweet waters and
salt ; and hath given you many a refuge to escape

H

114 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

the storms withal : nay more, hath given you a
clear, translucent element, and food by the which
ye may live. God, your kind and bountiful Creator,
when He created you, gave you commandment to
increase and multiply, and poured on you His
blessing : then whenas the deluge came and one
and all the other beasts all died, you alone did God
keep safe from harm. Moreover hath He given
you fins that ye may roam where'er ye please. To
you the grace was given, by God's command, to
save the prophet Jonah, and after the third day
to throw him safe and whole upon the land. Ye
brought the tribute-money to our Lord Jesu Christ,
who was so poor. He had not aught to pay. Ye
were the food of the eternal King, Jesu Christ, be-
fore the Resurrection and thereafter, through a
mystery wondrous rare ; for all the which things
much are ye bound to bless and praise God, who
hath given you so many and so great blessings
more than to other creatures." At these and the
like words of S. Antony, the fishes began to open
their mouths and bow their heads, and with these
and other signs of reverence in such fashion as
best they might, gave praises unto God. Then S.
Antony, beholding this great reverence of the fishes
unto God their Creator, rejoiced in spirit, and cried
with a loud voice : " Blessed be God eternal, sith
the fishes of the waters give Him more honour
than do the heretics ; and the animals that have
no reason pay more heed unto His word than un-
believing men." And the more S. Antony preached,
the more did the multitude of the fish increase,
and no one of them left the place that he had taken.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 1-15

At the which miracle the people of the city began
to run together, and among them the heretics afore-
said also drew nigh : the which beholding the
miracle so marvellous and so clear, touched to the
heart, fell all at the feet of S. Antony to hear his
words. Thereat S. Antony began to preach of the
catholic faith ; and so nobly did he preach that all
those heretics were converted, and turned them
to the faith of Christ ; and all the faithful abode
in joy exceeding great, being comforted and streng-
thened in the faith. And this done, S. Antony
bade the fishes depart with the blessing of God ;
and all went thence with marvellous signs of joy,
and likewise the people also. And thereafter
S. Antony abode in Rimini many days, preaching
and reaping much spiritual fruit of souls.

CHAPTER XLI

How the venerable Brother Simon delivered from a grievous
temptation a brother^ that wished on this account to
leave the Order

About the beginning of the Order of S. Francis
and while he was still alive, there came into the
Order a young man of Assisi, the which was called
Brother Simon : him God adorned and endowed
with so much grace, such depth of contemplation
and elevation of mind, that all his life was a mirror
of virtue, according as I have heard from those that
were long time with him. Full seldom was he seen
outside his cell, and at such times as he was with the
brothers, he always spake of God. He had never
learned the art of grammar ; nathless he spake such

ii6 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

profound'and lofty things of God and of the love of
Christ, that his words seemed supernatural ; whence
it befell that one evening when he had gone into
the wood with Brother Jacques da Massa for
to speak of God, and was speaking most sweetly
of the love divine, they continued all the night
in such discourse ; and in the morning it seemed
to them that they had been but a brief space to-
gether, even as was told me by the said Brother
Jacques. And the said Brother Simon felt such
pleasantness and sweetness of spirit in the divine en-
lightenment and loving visitations of God, that
oftentimes, when he had sense of their approach,
he would lay him down upon his bed ; for the tran-
quil sweetness of the Holy Spirit required of him
not only the repose of soul but of body, and in
these divine visitations he was often rapt in God,
and became all insensible to the things of the
body. Wherefore on a time, when thuswise rapt
in God and insensible to the world he inwardly
burned with love divine, and with his bodily feel-
ings had no sense at all of things without, a cer-
tain brother, desiring to make trial thereof, for
to see if it were truly as it seemed to be, went and
took a live coal from off the fire, and laid it on
his naked foot. And Brother Simon felt it not
a whit, and it made no mark upon his foot, albeit
it remained thereon so long a time that it went
out of its own self. The said Brother Simon,
when he set him down at table, before he took
food for the body, would take for himself and
give to others spiritual food, speaking of God.
Through his devout discourse on a time was con-

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 117

verted a young man of San Severino, the which in
the world was a youth exceeding vain and worldly,
and was of noble blood and much delicate of
body ; and Brother Simon receiving the said
youth into the Order, put his secular clothes aside
in his own charge ; and the youth abode with
Brother Simon to be taught by him the rules of
the Order. But the devil, that striveth to thwart
all good, assailed him with so fierce a temptation
and so grievous a thorn in the flesh, that in no
wise could he resist the same ; for the which cause
he went to Brother Simon, and said unto him :
" Give me back my clothes that I brought with
me from the world, for I can no more endure this
temptation of the flesh." And Brother Simon
having great compassion on him, said : *' Sit here
with me a little while, my son ; " and he began
to speak with him of God in such sort that all
temptation left him : and when after a time the
temptation came back and he asked for his clothes
again. Brother Simon drove it away with speech
of God. And when this had been so full many a
time, at last one night the said temptation assailed
him so grievously, even more than it was wont,
that for naught in the world could he resist it,
and going to Brother Simon, demanded of him
again all his secular clothes, for that in no wise
could he longer stay. Then Brother Simon, even
as he was wont to do, made him sit down beside
him ; and as he spake to him of God, the youth
leaned his head upon the breast of Brother Simon,
for sorrow and distress of soul. Then Brother
Simon for the great pity's sake that he had, lifted

ii8 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

up his eyes to heaven and prayed, and as he de-
voutly besought the Lord for him, he was rapt in
God and his prayer was heard : whenas he returned
to himself again, the young man found himself
altogether freed from that temptation, as though
he had felt it never a whit. The fire of temptation
being thuswise changed into the fire of the Holy
Spirit, for that he had drawn near unto the burn-
ing coal, to wit, unto Brother Simon, he became
altogether inflamed with the love of God and of
his neighbour ; in so much that on a time a male-
factor having been taken who was to have both his
eyes put out, he, to wit, the youth aforesaid, for
pity's sake went boldly unto the governor, and in
open council, and with many tears and humble
prayers besought that one of his eyes might be put
out and one only of the malefactor's, for that he
might not be deprived of both. But the gover-
nor and the council beholding the great fervour of
the charity of this brother, forgave both the one
and the other. It befell on a day while the said
Brother Simon was at prayer in the wood and was
feeling great consolation in his soul, that a flock
of crows began to do him annoy with their cries ;
wherefore he bade them in the name of Jesu depart
and return there no more : whereat the said birds
departing thence, from that time forward were no
more seen nor heard, neither there nor in all the
country round. And this miracle was manifested
unto all the Custody of Fermo, wherein the said
House lay.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 119

CHAPTER XLII

Of the fair miracles that God wrought by the hands of the holy
brothers^ Brother Bentivoglia^ Brother Peter of Monti-
cello y and Brother Conrad of Offida : and how Brother
Bentivoglia carried a leper fifteen miles in a very brief
space ; and how S, Michael spake unto the other^ and
the Virgin Mary came unto the third and laid her Son
in his arms

The Province of the March of Ancona was in
olden time adorned, even as the sky with stars,
with brothers that were patterns of holy life ; the
which, like shining lights of heaven, have illumined
and acorned the Order of S. Francis and the world
with ensampies and with doctrine. Among the
rest, there was first of all Brother Lucido Antico,
who was in very sooth resplendent with sanctity
and burning with charity divine ; whose glorious
tongue, taught of the Holy Spirit, brought forth
marvellous fruit in preaching. Another was Brother
Bentivoglia of San Severino, the which was seen by
Brother Masseo to be lifted up in the air for a great
space, whilst he was at prayer in the wood ; through
the which miracle the devout Brother Masseo, be-
ing the.i a parish priest, left his cure and became a
Brother Minor ; and he was of so great sanctity
that he wrought many miracles, both when alive
and dead, and his body rests at Murro. The afore-
said Brother Bentivoglia, while abiding on a time
at Trave Bonanti alone, for to care for and serve
a leper, was bidden by his superior to depart thence
and go to another place that was fifteen miles off;

I20 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

not willing to abandon the leper, with great fer-
vour of charity he took him up and set him on his
shoulder, and carried him from dawn even unto
sun-rise all that road of fifteen miles, to the place
whither he had been sent, that was called Monte
Sancino : the which journey, had he been an eagle,
he could not have flown in so short a time : and in
all that country round there was great marvel and
amazement at so divine a miracle. Another was
Brother Peter of Monticello, the which was seen
by Brother Servodio of Urbino (he being then
guardian in the old House of Ancona) lifted bodily
off the ground five or six cubits, even to the feet
of the Crucifix of the church, in front of which
he was at prayer. And this Brother Peter, while
fasting on a time with great devotion during the
forty days' fast of S. Michael the Archangel, and
being at prayer in the church on the last day of
this fast, was heard by a young brother (who of set
purpose lay hidden under the high altar for to see
some token of his sanctity) speaking with S. Michael
the Archangel ; and the words that he saia, were
these : Quoth S. Michael : " Brother Peter, thou
hast toiled so faithfully for me, and in many ways
hast afflicted thy body : lo ! now am I come to
comfort thee, and to the intent that thou mayest
ask what grace soever thou wilt, and I wiL get it
thee from God." Replied Brother Peter : '' Most
holy Prince of the celestial host, and faithful zealot
of love divine, and pitying protector of souls, I ask
this grace of thee that thou obtain from God the
pardon of my sins.'' Replied S. Michael : ^' Ask
some other grace of me, for this grace shall I win

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI i2i

for thee right easily ; '' but Brother Peter asking
for nothing more, the Archangel concluded thus :
" For the faith and devotion that thou hast to me,
I will obtain for thee this grace thou askest for,
and many more besides." And done their parley,
the which lasted for a long space, the Archangel
S. Michael was away, leaving him comforted ex-
ceedingly. In the days of this holy Brother Peter,
there lived also the holy Brother Conrad of Offida;
while they dwelt together in the same House of
Forano, in the Custody of Ancona, the said Brother
Conrad went one day into the wood to meditate on
God, and Brother Peter followed him by stealth,
for to see what might befall him ; and Brother
Conrad began to pray, most devoutly beseeching
the Virgin Mary with great piety to beg of her
blessed Son this grace, that he might feel a little
of that sweetness that S. Simeon felt on the day
of the Purification, when he held in his arms the
blessed Saviour Jesu. And when he had made this
prayer, the Virgin Mary of her pity heard him ;
and behold ! there appeared unto him the Queen
of heaven with her blessed Son in her arms, with
a great light exceeding bright, and coming near
unto Brother Conrad, she laid in his arms her
blessed Son : who taking Him with great devotion,
embracing and kissing Him and pressing Him to
his breast, was melted altogether and dissolved in
love divine and consolation unspeakable. And in
like manner Brother Peter, who from his hiding-
place saw all that befell, felt in his soul exceeding
sweetness and consolation. And when the Virgin
Mary had departed from Brother Conrad, Brother

122 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

Peter gat him back in haste to the house, that
he might not be seen of him : but thereafter,
when Brother Conrad returned all joyful and glad.
Brother Peter said unto him : "O what heavenly
great consolation hast thou had this day ! " Quoth
Brother Conrad : '* What is this that thou sayest.
Brother Peter ? and what dost thou know of that
which I have had ? " '* I know full well, I know,"
said Brother Peter, " how the Virgin Mary with
her blessed Son hath visited thee/' Then Brother
Conrad, who being truly humble desired to keep
secret the favours of God, besought him that he
would tell it unto no one ; and from that time
forth so great was the love between these twain,
that they seemed to have but one heart and soul
in all things. And on a time in the House of
Siruolo, the said Brother Conrad set free by his
prayers a woman that was possessed of a devil,
praying for her a whole night through, and being
seen by her mother, in the morning fled away, to
the intent that he might not be found and hon-
oured by the people.

CHAPTER XLIII

How Brother Conrad of Offida converted a young brother
that was troubling the other brethren. And how this
young brother dying appeared to the said Brother Conrad^
beseeching him to pray for him : and hoiu by his prayer
he set him free from the grievous pains of Purgatory

The said Brother Conrad of Offida, marvellous
zealot of gospel poverty and of the rule of S.
Francis, was of so religious a life and of so great

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 123

merit in the sight of God, that Christ, the blessed
One, honoured him in his life and death with
many miracles ; among the which, having come
on a time as a guest to the House of Offida, the
brothers prayed him, for the love of God and of
charity, to admonish a young brother that was in
that place, the which bore himself in a manner
so childish and unruly and ungovernable, that he
disturbed both old and young of the community
in the divine office, and for the other observances
of the rule cared little or naught. Wherefore
Brother Conrad, in pity for the youth and at the
prayers of the brothers, called the said brother
aside one day and in fervour of charity spake unto
him words of admonition so effective and devout,
that by the working of the divine grace he sud-
denly changed in his behaviour from a boy to an
old man, and became so obedient, and gentle, and
careful, and devout, and thereafter so peaceful
and serviceable, and so studious of all virtue, that,
as at the first all the community had been dis-
turbed by him, so were they all content with him
and comforted, and loved him exceeding well. A
while after, sith it was the will of God, after this
his conversion the youth aforesaid died ; whereof
the said brothers were sore grieving ; and a few
days after his death his soul appeared unto Brother
Conrad as he was devoutly praying before the
altar of the said convent, and saluted him de-
voutly as a father ; and Brother Conrad asked
him : "• Who art thou ? " He answered, and said :
" I am the soul of that young brother that died
in these days.'' Quoth Brother Conrad : ** O my

124 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

son most dear, how is it with thee ? " He an-
swered : '' By the grace of God and your admon-
ishments, it is well ; seeing that I am not damned,
but for certain of my sins, whereof I had not time
sufficiently to purge me, I suffer the grievous pains
of Purgatory : but I pray thee, father, that even
as of thy pity thou didst succour me whilst yet I
lived, so now thou wilt be pleased to help me in
my pains, saying a Paternoster for me ; sith thy
prayer is much acceptable in the sight of God/'
Then Brother Conrad consenting gently unto his
prayers, and saying the Paternoster once for him
and the Requiem aeternam, quoth that soul : *' O
father most dear, what blessedness and sweet re-
freshment do I feel ! now I pray thee that thou
say it once again/' And Brother Conrad said it :
and when that it was said, quoth the soul : '' Holy
father, when thou prayest for me I feel my pains
assuaged ; wherefore I do beseech thee that thou
cease not praying for me/' Thereat Brother Con-
rad, seeing that this soul was so much helped by
his prayers, said for him a hundred Paternosters ;
and when that they were said, quoth the soul :
" I thank thee, father most dear, in the name of
God, for the love that thou hast shown me ; for
through thy prayers am I set free from all my
pains, and now am I going to the celestial king-
dom ; " and this said, the soul was away. Then
Brother Conrad, for to give ioy and comfort to
the brethren, told unto them all this vision in
order. And thus the soul of that youth went to
Paradise through the merits of Brother Conrad.

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CHAPTER XLIV

How there appeared unto Brother Conrad the Mother of
Christy S. John the Evangelist, and S. Francis ; and
told him which of them had the greater grief for the
Passion of Christ

At the time when there dwelt together in the Cus-
tody of Ancona, in the House of Forano, Brother
Conrad and the aforesaid Brother Peter, the which
were two shining stars in the Province of the
March, and like denizens of heaven ; for between
them was there such love as seemed to spring from
one and the self-same heart and self-same soul. They
bound themselvestogethereach toeachby this agree-
ment, that every consolation that the mercy of God
might vouchsafe them, they would reveal the one
unto the other in love. This pact being stablished
between them, it befell on a day that Brother Peter
being at prayer, and most devoutly meditating on
the Passion of Christ, and how the most blessed
Mother of Christ, and John the Evangelist, the
most beloved disciple, and S. Francis, were de-
picted at the foot of the Cross through grief
of soul being crucified with Christ, there came to
him a longing to know which of those three had
the greater grief for the Passion of Christ : His
Mother, that had borne Him ; or the Disciple, that
had slept upon His breast ; or S. Francis, that had
with Christ been crucified : and as he continued
in such pious thoughts, there appeared unto him
the Virgin Mary, with S. John the Evangelist, and
S. Francis, clad in the noblest robes of beatific
glory ; but S. Francis appeared clad in more beau-

126 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

tiful vesture than S. John. And Peter being sore
adread at this vision, S. John comforted him, and
said : '' Fear not, dear brother, seeing that we are
come to console thee in thy doubt. Know then that
the Mother of Christ and I above all other creatures
sorrowed for the Passion of Christ ; but next after
us S. Francis felt greater grief than all others :
wherefore dost thou behold him in so great glory."
And Brother Peter asked him: '' Most holy Apostle
of Christ, wherefore doth the vesture of S. Francis
appear more beautiful than thine ? " Replied S.
John : " The reason thereof is : because when he
was in the world, he wore on his back viler raiment
than I." And said these words, S. John gave unto
Brother Peter a glorious robe that he was carry-
ing in his hand, and said unto him : ** Take this
robe which I have brought for to give it thee ; "
and when S. John sought to array him in this
robe. Brother Peter fell to the ground, sore amazed,
and began to cry out : '' Brother Conrad, Brother
Conrad most dear, quick, help me ; come and see
things wonderful ; " and at these holy words that
holy vision vanished from his sight. Then Brother
Conrad coming, he told him everything in order ;
and they gave thanks unto God.

CHAPTER XLV

Of the conversion and life and miracles and death of the
holy Brother John of La Penna

When Brother John of La Penna was a boy in
the Province of the March and still living the
secular life, there appeared unto him one night a

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 127

child exceeding beautiful, and called him, saying :
" John, go unto S. Stephen's, where is preaching
one of the Brothers Minor, in whose teaching do
thou believe and give heed unto his words, seeing
that I have sent him thither; and this done, thou
hast a long journey to take, and then shalt thou
come unto me." Whereat straightway he arose
and felt a great change within his soul. And
coming to S. Stephen's, he found there a great mul-
titude of men and of women, that were gathered
together for to hear the preaching. And he that
was to preach was a brother, by name Brother
Philip, the which was one of the first brothers that
had come to the March of Ancona ; and as yet
there were but few Houses in the March. This
Brother Philip stood up to preach, and preached
exceeding devoutly, not with words of human
wisdom, but by virtue of the spirit of Christ,
making known the kingdom of eternal life. And
done the preaching, the boy aforesaid went to
Brother Philip, and said unto him : ** Father, if it
please thee to receive me into the Order, I would
do penance willingly and serve our Lord Jesu
Christ." Brother Philip seeing and recognizing
in the boy a right marvellous innocence and ready
will to serve God, said unto him : '^ Thou shalt
come to me on such a day at Recanati, and I will
have thee received : " for in this place was to be
held the Provincial Chapter. Whereby the boy,
being very pure in heart, thought that this would
be the long journey that he was to take, according
to the revelation that he had had, and that there-
after he would go to Paradise ; and so he thought

128 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

to do, straightway after he had been received into
the Order. So he went and was received : but
perceiving that his thoughts were not fulfilled at
that time, and the Minister in Chapter saying that
whoso desired to go into the province of Provence,
for the merit of holy obedience, would have leave
granted to him willingly, there came to him a great
desire to go there, thinking in his heart that that
would be the long journey that he must take,
before he went to Paradise : but shaming to say so,
at the last he confided in Brother Philip aforesaid,
the which had let receive him into the Order, and
besought him tenderly that he would obtain for
him this favour of going to the province of Pro-
vence. Then Brother Philip, seeing his purity and
his holy purpose, obtained for him leave thereto :
so Brother John, with great joy, set out upon his
way, bethinking him that, done this journey, he
would go to Paradise. But sith it pleased God,
he abode in the said province five and twenty years
in that expectation and desire, shewing himself a
pattern of holy life, increasing always in virtue and
favour with God and the people, and was exceeding
much beloved by the brothers and by those in the
world. And as Brother John was praying devoutly
one day, and weeping and lamenting for that his
desire was not fulfilled, and that his life's pilgrim-
age was so much prolonged, there appeared unto
him Christ, the blessed One, at the sight of whom
his soul was all melted within him, and spake thus
unto him : *' My son. Brother John, ask of Me
whatsoever thou wilt ; " and he replied : " My
Lord, I know not what to ask of Thee save Thy-

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 129

self alone, for naught do I desire save Thee : but
for this alone do I pray Thee, that Thou forgive
me all my sins, and grant me grace to see Thee
yet another time, when I have the greater need
thereof." Jesu said: *'Thy prayer is granted."
And this said He was away, and Brother John
remained altogether comforted. At length, the
brothers of the March hearing of the fame of his
sanctity, prevailed with the General to bid him by
holy obedience return to the March ; and he re-
ceiving this obedience, set out joyfully on his way,
bethinking him that, done this journey, he needs
would go to heaven, according to the promise of
Christ. But when that he had returned to the
Province of the March, he lived therein for thirty
years, and none of his kinsfolk knew him again ;
and every day he looked for the mercy of God,
that it should fulfil His promise to him. And
in those days he many times filled the office of
guardian with great discretion ; and God wrought
through him many miracles. And among the other
gifts that he received of God, he had the spirit of
prophecy ; now on a time it befell that when he
was away from the House, one of his novices was
assailed by the devil and so grievously tempted that,
consenting unto the temptation, he was minded to
leave the Order, so soon as Brother John should
have come back again ; the which matter, and
temptation, and the thoughts of his heart, being
known unto Brother John through the spirit of
prophecy, he straightway returned home, and called
the said novice unto him, and bade him confess
himself: but before he confessed, he told him in

I

I30 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

order all his temptation, according as God had
revealed it unto him, and ended thus : *' My son,
because thou hast waited for me and wouldest not
depart without my blessing, God hath given thee
this grace that never shalt thou leave this Order,
but by the grace of God shalt die in the Order."
Thereat the said novice was strengthened in good
will, and remaining in the Order became a holy
brother : and all these things were told me by
Brother Ugolino. The said Brother John, who
was a man of cheerful and tranquil mind, spake
but seldom, and was much given to prayer and de-
votion, and above all after Matins he would not
return to his cell, but would continue in prayer in
the church until daylight ; and while he was thus
praying one night after Matins, the Angel of God
appeared unto him, saying : " Brother John, now
is finished thy journey, for the which thou hast
waited so long ; wherefore, in the name of God, I
announce unto thee that thou mayest ask whatso-
ever grace thou wilt. And likewise I announce
unto thee that thou mayest choose which thou
wilt, — or one day in Purgatory, or seven days* pain
on earth.'' And Brother John choosing rather the
seven days' pain on earth, straightway fell sick of
divers infirmities ; for a grievous fever seized him,
and gout in his hands and his feet, and pains in his
side, and many other ills ; but what was more
grievous to him was that a devil stood before him
and held in his hand a great scroll, whereon were
writtenall the sins that he had everdone or thought,
and said to him : " For these sins that thou hast
done in thought, word, and deed, art thou damned

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI ijr

to the depths of hell." And he could not call to
mind any good deed that he had ever done, either
in the Order or elsewhere, and so he thought that
he was damned, even as the devil said. Wherefore,
if any asked him how he fared, he would answer :
" 111, sith I am damned." Seeing this, the brothers
sent for an aged brother called Brother Matthew
of Monte Rubbiano, the which was a holy man
and a close friend of this Brother John ; and the
said Brother Matthew coming to him on the
seventh day of his trouble, saluted him and asked
him how he fared. He replied that he fared
ill, sith he was damned. Then quoth Brother
Matthew : " Dost thou not remember how thou
hast oftentimes confessed thyself to me, and I have
wholly absolved thee of all thy sins ? Dost thou
not remember also that thou hast served God
continuously in this holy Order many years ì Be-
sides, dost thou not remember that the mercy of
God is greater than all the sins of the world, and
that the blessed Christ, our Saviour, paid an in-
finite price for our redemption ? Wherefore be
of good hope that of a surety thou art saved ; "
and with these words, since the time of his puri-
fication was accomplished, the temptation left
him, and he was comforted. And with great joy
Brother John spake unto Brother Matthew : *' Since
thou art wearied and the hour is late, I pray thee
go and rest thyself;" and Brother Matthew was
loth to leave him ; but at length, at his much
urging, he left him and went to lie down : and
Brother John remained alone with a brother that
did him service. And behold ! Christ, the blessed

132 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

One, came with great splendour and with fragrance
of exceeding sweetness, even as He had promised
to appear to him a second time when his need was
greater, and He healed him thoroughly of all his
sickness. Then Brother John with hands clasped
gave thanks unto God that he had made so good
an end of the long journey of this miserable life,
commended his soul into the hands of Christ and
gave it up to God, passing from this mortal life
unto life eternal with Christ, the blessed One,
whom he had so long desired and waited to behold.
And the said Brother John rests in the convent of
La Penna of Saint John.

CHAPTER XLVI

How Brother Peaceful being at prayer saw the soui of
Brother Humble^ his brother^ i^i^'^S ^P ^^ heaven

In the aforesaid Province of the March, after the
death of S. Francis, there were two brothers in the
Order ; the one named Brother Humble and the
other Brother Peaceful, the which were men of
exceeding great sanctity and perfection ; and the
one, to wit, Brother Humble, abode in the House
of Soffiano, and there died ; and the other belonged
to another community at some distance therefrom.
Now it pleased God that as Brother Peaceful was
at prayer one day in a lonely place, he was rapt in
ecstasy, and saw the soul of his brother, Brother
Humble, that had just then left the body, going
straight up into heaven without either let or hin-

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 133

drance. It befell that, many years after, Brother
Peaceful, being still alive, was sent to the com-
munity in the aforesaid House of Soffiano, where
his brother had died. About this time the
brothers, at the request of the lords of Bruforte,
exchanged the said House for another; wherefore,
among other things, they carried with them the
relics of the holy brothers that had died in that
House, and coming to the grave of Brother
Humble, his brother. Brother Peaceful took up
his bones, and washed them with good wine and
wrapped them in a white napkin, and with great
reverence and devotion kissed them and wept over
them ; whereat the other brothers marvelled, and
deemed he set them no good example ; in that it
seemed that, albeit a man of so great sanctity, he
mourned for his brother, with a carnal and a worldly
love ; and that he showed more devotion to his
relics than to those of the other brothers that had
been of no less sanctity than Brother Humble, and
whose relics were worthy of as much reverence
as his. And Brother Peaceful knowing the evil
imaginings of the brothers, humbly satisfied them
thereof, and said unto them : '* My brothers most
dear, marvel not that I have done for the bones
of my brother what I have not done for the
others ; for, blessed be God, I was not moved
thereto, as ye deem, by carnal love ; but so have
I done, for that, when my brother passed away
from this life, I praying in a lonely place and
distant far from him, beheld his soul rise straight
to heaven, whereby I am assured that his bones
are holy and should be in Paradise. And if God

134 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

had granted me such surety touching the other
brothers, then would I have paid the self same re-
verence unto their bones." For the which cause,
the brothers, seeing his holy and devout intent,
were through him well edified, and gave praise
unto God, that doeth such marvellous things unto
His holy ones, the brothers.

CHAPTER XLVII

Of the holy brother unto whom appeared the Mother of
Christy what time he was sicky bringing him three boxes
of electuary

In the above-mentioned House of Soffiano there
was in former times a Brother Minor of so great
sanctity and grace that he seemed altogether divine,
and oftentimes was rapt in God. Once on a time
this brother being wholly absorbed in God and
lifted up, for he had in notable fashion the grace
of contemplation, there came unto him birds of
divers kinds, and settled, as they were tame, on his
shoulders and on his head, and on his arms and
his hands, and sang right marvellously. He loved
to be alone and spake but seldom ; but when
he was questioned touching any matter, he would
answer so wisely and so graciously that he seemed
rather an angel than a man ; and he abounded much
in prayer and contemplation ; and the brothers
held him in high reverence. This brother hav-
ing finished the course of his virtuous life, accord-
ing to God's ordinance, fell sick unto death, so

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S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 135

that he could take no food at all ; and therewithal
would take no carnal medicine, but all his trust
was in the heavenly physician, Jesu Christ, the
blessed One, and in His blessed Mother ; by whom
through the divine clemency he merited to be
mercifully visited and tended. Wherefore on a
time as he was lying on his bed and preparing him-
self for death with all his heart and with utter de-
votion, there appeared unto him the glorious Virgin
Mary, Mother of Christ, with a very great com-
pany of Angels and of holy Virgins, in marvellous
splendour, and drew nigh unto his bed ; whereat,
gazing upon her, he took great comfort and joy,
both in soul and body ; and began to beseech her
humbly that she would pray her dear Son that of
His merits He would take him out of the prison
of this miserable flesh. And as he continued in
this prayer with many tears, the Virgin Mary
answered him, calling him by his name, and said :
" Be not doubting, my son, for thy prayer is heard,
and I am come to comfort thee a little, ere thou de-
part from out this life." Now there were beside
the Virgin Mary three holy Virgins, that carried
in their hands three boxes of electuary of surpass-
ing fragrance and sweetness. Then the glorious
Virgin took and opened one of these boxes, and
all the house was filled with sweet odours ; and
taking of this electuary with a spoon, she gave
unto the sick man : the which, so soon as he had
tasted, felt such comfort and such sweetness, that
it seemed as though his soul could stay within his
body no longer ; wherefore he began to say : '* No
more, O most holy and blessed Virgin Mother, O

136 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

blessed physician and saviour of human kind, no
more ; for I cannot endure such sweetness." But
the kind and pitying Mother gave of this electuary
unto the sick man many times and made him to take
it, until all the box was emptied. Then when the
first box was empty, the blessed Virgin took the
second, and put the spoon therein for to give it
him ; whereat he murmured, saying : " O most
blessed Mother of God, my soul is well-nigh all
melted away through the ardour and the sweetness
of the first electuary : then how may I endure the
second ? I pray thee, blessed above all saints and
angels, that thou seek not to give me more."
Replied the glorious Virgin Mary : '' Taste, my
son, yet a little of this second box." And giving
him a little thereof, she said : '* To-day, my son,
thou hast as much as is sufficient for thee ; be
comforted, my son, for soon shall I come for thee
and take thee to the kingdom of my Son, the
which thou hast ever sought and desired ; " and this
said, she took leave of him and was away ; and he
remained so consoled and comforted through the
sweetness of this confection that, being stayed
therewith, he lived many days more, well satisfied
and strong, without any food for the body. And
after some days, while speaking joyfully with the
brothers, with great gladness and delight he passed
away from this miserable life.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 137

CHAPTER XLVIII

How Brother Jacques of La Massa saw in a dream all the
Brothers Minor in the world^ in the likeness of a tree^ and
learned the virtue and the merits and the vices of each

Brother Jacques of La Massa, unto whom God
opened the door of His secrets, and gave perfect
knowledge and understanding of the Holy Scrip-
tures and of things to come, was of so great
sanctity that Brother Giles of Assisi, and Brother
Mark of Montino, and Brother Juniper, and
Brother Lucido said of him : that they knew of no
one in the world that found greater favour in the
sight of God than this Brother Jacques. I had
a great desire to see him ; for when I besought
Brother John, a companion of the said Brother
Giles, to expound unto me certain spiritual matters,
he said unto me : " If thou desire to be well in-
structed in the spiritual life, strive to have speech
of Brother Jacques of La Massa (for Brother Giles
desired to be taught of him), and to his words
naught can be added nor aught be taken away,
for his mind hath entered into the secret things
of heaven, and his words are the words of the
Holy Spirit, and there is no man on earth whom
I so much desire to see." This Brother Jacques,
in the beginning of the ministry of Brother John
of Parma, while praying on a time was rapt in
God, and he abode three days thus rapt in ecstasy,
with all bodily feeling suspended, in such fashion
that the brothers doubted whether he was not
dead : and being thus rapt, it was revealed to him

138 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

of God, what must needs befall and happen to
our Order : for the which cause, when 1 heard
thereof, my desire was increased to hear him and
have speech with him. And when it pleased God
that I should have leisure to speak with him, I
besought him in this manner : '* If that which I
have heard tell of thee be true, I pray thee that
thou keep it not hidden from me. I have heard
that when thou wast for three days as one dead,
among other things that God revealed, was that
which should happen unto this our Order : and
that was told unto me by Brother Matthew,
minister of the March, to whom thou didst re-
veal it by holy obedience.'' Then Brother Jacques
with great humility confessed that what Brother
Matthew had said, was true. And the words that
he spake, to wit Brother Matthew, the minister
of the March, were these : '' I know a brother,
unto whom God hath revealed whatsoever will
happen in our Order ; for Brother Jacques of La
Massa hath told me and said that after many
things that God revealed to him touching the
estate of the Church militant, he beheld in a dream
a tree fair to see and very great, whose root was
of gold, and its fruits were men, and they were
all of them Brothers Minor ; its main branches
were distinctly marked according to the number
of the provinces of the Order, and each branch
had as many brothers as there were in the province
whose name was written on the branch. And
thus he knew the number of all the brothers in
the Order, of each province, and likewise their
names and the age and condition of each, and the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 139

great offices and the dignities and the grace of all
of them, and the faults. And he saw Brother
John of Parma on the highest point of the mid-
most branch of this tree, and on the tops of the
branches that were round about this midmost
branch, were the ministers of all the provinces.
And thereafter he saw Christ sitting on a throne
exceeding great and shining, and Christ called
S. Francis up thither and gave him a chalice full
of the spirit of life, and sent him forth saying :
'* Go, visit thy brothers, and give them to drink
of this chalice of the spirit of life ; for the spirit
of Satan will rise up against them and will strike
them, and many of them will fall and will not
rise up again." And Christ gave unto S. Francis
two angels to bear him company. Then came S.
Francis to give the chalice of life to his brothers :
and he gave it first to Brother John of Parma :
who, taking it, drank it all in haste, devoutly ;
and straightway he became all shining like the
sun. And after him S. Francis gave it to all the
other brothers in order : and there were but few
among them that took it with due reverence and
devotion, and drank it all. Those that took it
devoutly and drank it all, became straightway
shining like the sun ; but those that spilled it all
and took it not devoutly, became black, and dark,
and misshapen, and horrible to see ; but those
that drank part and spilled part, became partly
shining and partly dark, and more so or less
according to the measure of their drinking or
spilling thereof. But the aforesaid Brother John
was resplendent above all the rest, the which had

I40 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

more completely drunk the chalice of life, whereby
he had the more deeply gazed into the abyss of
the infinite light divine : and had learned therein
of the adversity and the tempest that was to rise
up against this tree and shake and toss its branches.
For the which cause the said Brother John came
down from the top of the branch whereon he
stood ; and going down below all the branches
hid himself in the solid root of the tree, and was
all rapt in thought ; and one of the brothers
that had taken part of the chalice and part had
spilt, climbed up on to that branch and to that
place, whence Brother John had come down.
And when he was come to that place, the nails of
his hands became iron, sharp and keen as razors :
whereat he left the place to which he had climbed,
and with rage and fury sought to hurl himself
upon the said Brother John for to do him hurt.
But, seeing this, Brother John cried aloud and
commended himself to Christ that sat upon the
throne ; and at the voice of his crying Christ called
unto him S. Francis, and gave him a sharp flint
stone, and said unto him : " Take this stone and cut
off the nails of that brother, wherewith he would
fain tear Brother John, so that he may do him no
hurt." Then S. Francis came and did even as
Christ had commanded. And this done, there
arose a storm of wind, and shook the tree so
violently that the brothers fell down on to the
ground ; and first fell all they that had spilled
all the chalice of the spirit of life, and were
carried away by the devils to places of darkness
and torment. But Brother John, together with

IHK ( KI.I. IN WHK H IIRD'IIILK J()HN OF ALVP:RNIA LIVED ON

MONTE ALVKRNIA

(From Descrizione del Sacro Monte della Vernia, riaic T)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 141

the others that had drunk all the chalice, were
borne by the angels unto the place of life, and of
light eternal, and beatific splendour. And the
aforesaid Brother Jacques, that saw the vision,
understood and discerned distinctly and separately
all that he saw, touching the name and condition
and state of each one of them clearly. And so
long did that storm beat against the tree that it
fell, and the wind carried it away. Then, when
the storm ceased, straightway from the golden
root of this tree there sprang up another tree that
was all of gold, the which brought forth leaves
and flowers and fruit of gold. Of this tree, and
how it spread out its branches and fixed deep its
root, and of its beauty and fragrance and virtue,
it were better to keep silence than to speak thereon
at this present.

CHAPTER XLIX

How Jesu Christ appeared unto Brother John of A Iv ernia

Among the other wise and holy brothers and sons
of S. Francis, who, as Solomon saith, are the glory
of their father, there was in our time, in the said
Province of the March, the venerable and holy
Brother John of Fermo, the which was called also
Brother John of Alvernia by reason of the long
time that he dwelt in the holy House of Alvernia,
and because he there passed away from this life ;
for he was a man of wonderful life and of great
sanctity. This Brother John, while yet a boy and
living in the world, desired with all his heart to

142 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

tread the path of penitence that keepeth pure both
body and soul ; whereby being still a little child,
he began to wear the little heart of mail and iron
girdle on his flesh, and to use great abstinence ;
and above all, while he dwelt with the Canons of
S. Peter of Fermo, that lived in great splendour,
he shunned all carnal delights and mortified his
body with great severity of abstinence ; but seeing
that his companions there were much set against
him, the which robbed him of the little heart and
in divers manners hindered his abstinence, inspired
of God he minded to leave the world with the
lovers thereof, and to offer himself wholly in the
arms of the Crucified, in the habit of the crucified
S. Francis ; and even so he did. And being re-
ceived into the Order while yet a boy, and com-
mitted unto the care of the master of the novices,
he became so spiritually minded and so devout,
that many a time hearing the said master speaking
of God, his heart would melt like wax before the
fire ; and the love of God kindled in him such
sweetness of grace, that not being able to remain
still to endure such sweetness, he would get up,
and as one drunken in spirit, would run, now
through the garden, now through the wood, now
through the church, according as the flame and
the ardour of the spirit drave him. Then in course
of time the divine grace made this angelic soul to
grow continually from virtue unto virtue, and in
heavenly gifts, being uplifted unto God and rapt
in ecstasy ; so that at one time his mind was lifted
up to the splendours of the Cherubim, at another
time to the ardours of the Seraphim, at another to

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 143

the joys of the Blessed, at another to the loving
and ineffable embraces of Christ. And above all,
once upon a time in exceeding wondrous fashion
his heart was kindled with the fire of love divine,
and this flame lasted in him for full three years,
in the which time he received marvellous consola-
tions and visitations divine, and oftentimes was
rapt in God, and in short, in the said time he seemed
all on fire and burning with the love of Christ :
and all this was on the holy mount of Alvernia.
But seeing that God careth with tender care for
his children, giving them, at divers times, now
consolation, and now tribulation, now prosperity,
and now adversity, according as He seeth they have
need thereof, for to continue in humility, or for
to kindle more in them desire for heavenly things;
it pleased the divine goodness, after three years,
to take away from the said Brother John that
ray and fire of love divine, and reave him of all
spiritual consolation. Whereby Brother John re-
mained without the light and love of God, and
altogether disconsolate and afflicted and distressed.
For the which cause, being in such anguish, he
went through the wood running hither and thither,
calling with cries and tears and sighs on the beloved
spouse of his soul, who had hidden himself and
gone away from him, and without whose presence
his soul could find no rest and no repose : but in
no place and in no manner could he find his sweet
Jesu again, nor taste again those sweet spiritual
draughts of the love of Jesu Christ, as he had
been wont. And this tribulation endured for many
days, in the which he abode continually weeping

144 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

and sighing, and praying God that of His pity-
He would give back to him the beloved spouse of
his soul. At the last, when it pleased God to have
made trial enough of his patience and to have
kindled his desire, on a day when Brother John
was going through the wood in such affliction and
distress, he sat him down for very weariness, lean-
ing against a beech tree, and remained with his
face all bathed in tears looking up to heaven, —
behold ! suddenly Jesu Christ appeared hard by
him in the path, whereby Brother John had come,
but spake naught. Brother John seeing Him and
knowing full well that it was Christ, straightway
threw himself at His feet, and with sore weeping
besought Him very humbly, saying : " Help me,

0 Lord, for without Thee, my most sweet Saviour,

1 am full of darkness and weeping ; without Thee,
most gentle lamb, I am full of anguish and pain
and fear : without Thee, Son of God most high,
I am full of confusion and shame : without Thee,
I am bereft of all good and am blind, since Thou
art Jesu Christ, the true light of souls ; without
Thee, I am lost and damned, for Thou art the life
of souls, and the life of lives ; without Thee, I
am barren and dry, for Thou art the fountain of
every gift and grace ; without Thee, I am alto-
gether disconsolate, for Thou art Jesu our redemp-
tion, our love, and our desire, the bread of comfort,
and the wine that maketh glad the hearts of the
Angels, and the hearts of all the Saints : enlighten
me, most gracious Master, and most tender Shep-
herd, for I am Thy little sheep, unworthy though
I be.'' But sith the desire of holy men, when God

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 145

delays to hear, doth kindle in them greater love
and merit, Christ, the blessed One, departed with-
out hearing him, and without speaking to him
aught at all, and he went by the little pathway
aforesaid. Then Brother John arose, and ran after
Him, and once again threw himself at His feet,
and with holy importunity held Him back, and
with most devout tears besought Him, and said :
" O most sweet Jesu Christ, have mercy upon me
in my trouble ; hear me for the multitude of Thy
mercies, and for the truth of Thy salvation, and
give back to me the joy of Thy countenance and
Thy glance of pity, for the whole world is full of
Thy mercy." And still Christ departed and spake
naught unto him, nor gave him any comfort ; and
He dealt with him even as a mother with her child,
when she lets him desire the breast and makes
him run behind weeping, to the end that he may
thereafter receive it the more willingly. Whereat
Brother John still followed Christ with greater
fervour and desire ; and when he was come close
up to Him, the blessed Christ turned and looked
upon him with a glad countenance and gracious ;
and opening His most holy and most pitying arms,
embraced him very tenderly ; and as He opened
thus His arms. Brother John saw streaming from
the most sacred breast of the Saviour rays of shin-
ing light, which illumined all the wood and him
likewise, both in body and soul. Then Brother
John kneeled him down at the feet of Christ ; and
the blessed Christ of His loving kindness gave him
His foot to kiss, as He did to the Magdalene ;
and Brother John holding it with all reverence,

K

146 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

bathed it with so many tears that of a sooth he
seemed a second Magdalene, and said devoutly :
*' I pray Thee, Lord, that Thou look not on my
sins, but by Thy most holy passion and by the
shedding of Thy most holy precious blood, revive
my soul in the grace of Thy love ; sith this is Thy
commandment, that we love Thee with all our
heart and with all our soul ; the which command-
ment none can keep without Thy help. Help
me then, most beloved Son of God, that I may
love Thee with all my heart and with all my
strength." And as Brother John with such words
lay at the feet of Christ, his prayer was heard, and
he received from Him the first grace, to wit the
flame of love divine, and he felt altogether renewed
and comforted ; and knowing within himself that
the gift of divine grace had returned to him again,
he began to give thanks unto the blessed Christ
and devoutly kiss His feet. And as he rose
up, to gaze upon the face of Christ, Jesu Christ
stretched out His most holy hands for him to
kiss ; and when that Brother John had kissed
them, he drew near and leaned upon the breast
of Jesu and embraced and kissed Him ; and Christ
in like manner embraced and kissed him. And in
this kiss and this embrace, Brother John perceived
so divine a fragrance, that had all the fragrant
spices and all the sweet-smelling things of all the
earth been gathered together, they would have
seemed but as a stench in comparison with that
fragrance ; and thereat was Brother John right
well illumined and consoled, and that fragrance
remained within his soul for manv months. And

I;. IH. ut to, I a M,

S. FRANCIS ON HIS DKA T II I'.KD
(Church of Sta Croce, I'lorcnce)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 147

thenceforth, from out his mouth that had drunk
of the fountain of divine wisdom in the sacred
breast of the Saviour, there came forth marvellous
and celestial words, that changed the hearts of
men and brought forth rich fruit of souls in whoso
heard them. And in the little path in the wood,
whereon the blessed feet of Christ had stood, and
for a great space all around, did Brother John
always perceive that fragrance and behold that
splendour, whene'er he fared thither, and eke for
a long time thereafter. Whenas Brother John
returned to himself again after this ecstasy, and
the bodily presence of Christ had disappeared, he
remained so illumined in his soul, from the abyss
of His divinity, that albeit he was not a man learned
through human study, yet in marvellous fashion
he solved and explained the most subtle and lofty
questions touching the divine Trinity, and the
deep mysteries of the Holy Scripture. And often-
times thereafter, when he spake before the pope,
and the cardinals, and the king, and his barons,
and the masters, and doctors, they were all amazed
at the lofty words and the profound thoughts that
he spake.

CHAPTER L

How Brother John of A hernia^ as he said mass on All Souls'
Day^ saw many souls delivered from Purgatory

As the aforesaid Brother John was on a time
saying the Mass on the day after All Saints' for
the souls of all the dead, according as the Church

148 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

has ordained, with such effectual charity and such
pitying compassion did he offer that most high
sacrament, (which for its saving power, the souls
of the dead desire above all other blessings that
can be poured upon them), that he seemed alto-
gether as though he were melted with the sweet-
ness of pity and brotherly love. For the which
cause as he devoutly elevated the Body of Christ
in that Mass, and offered it unto God the Father,
and prayed that for the love of His beloved Son
Jesu Christ, who for the redemption of souls had
hung upon the cross, it would please Him to set
free from the pains of Purgatory the souls of the
dead He had created and redeemed, — straightway
he saw a multitude of souls wellnigh without
number coming forth from Purgatory, like count-
less sparks of fire coming out of a blazing furnace,
and he beheld them rise up to heaven, through
the merits of the passion of Christ, who every
day is offered for the quick and the dead in that
most sacred Host, that is worthy to be adored in
s acuta saculorum.

CHAPTER LI

Of the holy Brother Jacques of Fa /krone ; and how after his
deathy he appeared unto Brother John of A hernia

At the time when Brother Jacques of Fallerone,
a man of great sanctity, was grievously sick in
the House of Moliano in the Custody of Fermo,
Brother John of Alvernia, who was then abiding

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 149

in the House of La Massa, came to hear of his
sickness, and sith he loved him as he were his
own dear father, set himself to pray for him,
devoutly beseeching God in his heart to grant
unto the said Brother Jacques health of body, if
so be that it was for the good of his soul. And
as he thus devoutly prayed, he was rapt in ecstasy,
and saw in the air above his cell, that was in the
wood, a great host of Angels and Saints, shining
with such splendour, that all the country round
was lit up therewith : and in the midst of these
angels he beheld that sick Brother Jacques, for
whom he prayed, all resplendent in white robes.
Among them likewise he beheld the blessed Father
S. Francis; adorned with the holy Stigmata of
Christ and with much glory. Moreover he saw
and recognised the holy Brother Lucido, and
Brother Matthew Antico of Monte Rubbiano,
and many other brothers, the which in this life
he had never seen or known. And as Brother
John was thus gazing with great joy upon this
blessed company of Saints, it was revealed to him
that of a surety the soul of the said sick brother
would be saved, and of that sickness he must die ;
but that he would not go to Paradise straightway
after his death, but he needs must be a little
purified in Purgatory. At this revelation did
Brother John feel so great joy, by reason of the
salvation of the soul, that for the death of the
body he gave no thought at all ; but with much
sweetness of spirit he called him, saying within
himself: "Brother Jacques, sweet father mine;
Brother Jacques, sweet my brother; Brother

I50 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

Jacques, most faithful servant and friend of God ;
Brother Jacques, companion of the Angels, in
fellowship with the blessed." And so in this
certitude and joy he returned to himself again ;
and straightway he departed from the House
and went to visit the said Brother Jacques at
Mollano : and finding him so weighed down with
sickness that he scarce could speak, he announced
to him the death of the body, and the salvation
and glory of the soul, according to the certitude
that he had thereof, by divine revelation ; so that
Brother Jacques, full of joy in heart and face, re-
ceived him with great gladness and with merry
laughter, giving him thanks for the glad tidings
that he brought, and commending himself de-
voutly unto him. Then Brother John besought
him tenderly that after his death he would come
back to him and tell him of his state ; and Brother
Jacques promised him so to do, if so it were
pleasing unto God. And said these words, as the
hour of his departure drew near. Brother Jacques
began devoutly to recite the verse of the Psalm :
"In pace in idipsum dormiam et requiescam,"
that is to say : *' In peace shall I sleep and rest
in the life eternal : '' and said this verse, with
joyful and glad countenance he passed away from
this life. And after that he was buried. Brother
John returned to the House of La Massa, and
waited for the promise of Brother Jacques that
he would return to him on the day that he had
said. But on the said day, as he was praying,
Christ appeared unto him with a great company
of Angels and Saints, and Brother Jacques was

I

I

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 151'

not among them ; whereat Brother John, greatly
marvelling, commended him devoutly unto Christ.
On the following day, as Brother John was praying
in the wood, there appeared unto him Brother
Jacques, all glorious and glad, accompanied by the
Angels, and Brother John said unto him: "O
father most dear, wherefore didst thou not re-
turn to me on the day thou didst promise me ? "
Replied Brother Jacques : *' Because I had need
of some purifying ; but in that same hour that
Christ appeared to thee and thou didst commend
me unto Him, Christ heard thee and set me free
from all pain. And then I appeared unto Brother
Jacques of La Massa, a holy lay-brother ; the
which was serving the Mass and saw the conse-
crated Host, what time the priest elevated it,
changed and transformed in the likeness of a most
beautiful living child ; and to him I said : * This
day am I going with this child unto the kingdom
of eternal life, unto the which none may go without
him.' And said these words. Brother Jacques
vanished out of sight ; and he went up into heaven
with all that blessed company of Angels ; and
Brother John remained much comforted. The
said Brother Jacques of Fallerone died on the vigil
of S. James the Apostle, in the month of July, in
the aforesaid House of Moliano ; wherein after his
death many miracles were wrought through his
merits by the divine goodness.

152 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF
CHAPTER LII

Of the vision of Brother John of Alvernia^ whereby he under-
stood all the order of the Holy Trinity

For that the aforesaid John of Alvernia had per-
fectly renounced all worldly and temporal delights
and consolations, and had set all his delight and
all his hope in God, the divine goodness gave unto
him marvellous consolations and revelations, and
especially on the high festivals of Christ ; so on a
time when the festival of the nativity of Christ was
drawing nigh, on the which he looked that of a
surety he would receive of God consolation from
the sweet humanity of Jesu, the Holy Spirit put
into his soul such great and exceeding love and
fervour for the charity of Christ, whereby He
humbled Himself to take upon Him our humanity,
that of a sooth it seemed as if his soul was drawn
out of his body and was burning like a furnace.
Not being able to endure this fire of love, he was
in anguish and was altogether melted away, and
cried out with a loud voice : for through the
vehemence of the Holy Spirit and the too much
fervour of his love, he could not refrain himself
from crying out. And in that same hour wherein
this immeasurable fervour came upon him, there
came to him therewithal so strong and sure a hope
of his salvation, that for naught in the world could
he believe, that were he then to die, would he have
need to pass through the pains of Purgatory ; and
this love endured in him for full six months, albeit
he felt not that excessive fervour continuously, but

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 153

it came to him at certain hours of the day. And
in that time he received marvellous visitations and
consolations from God : and oftentimes he was
rapt in ecstasy, even as was seen by that brother
who first wrote of these things ; among the which
at one time he was so lifted up and rapt in God,
that he beheld in Him, the Creator, all created
things both of heaven and earth, and all their per-
fections, and grades, and distinct orders. And
then he clearly knew how every created thing pre-
sented itself to its Creator, and how God is above,
and within, and without, and beside all created
things. Thereafter he perceived God as One in
Three Persons, and Three Persons in One God ;
and the infinite love that caused the Son of God
to become incarnate, in obedience to the Father.
And in the end he perceived in that vision how
that there was no other way whereby the soul
could come to God and have eternal life, save only
through Christ, the blessed One, who is the Way,
the Truth, and the Life of the soul.

CHAPTER LIII

How Brother John of A hernia^ as he was saying MasSyfell

down as one dead

To the same Brother John in the aforesaid House
of Moliano, according as was told by the brothers
that were there present, there befell on a time this
marvellous case. On the first night after the octave
of S. Lawrence, and within the octave of the

154 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

Assumption of Our Lady, having said Matins in
the church with the other brothers, and feeling the
unction of the divine grace coming upon him, he
went into the garden for to meditate on the Passion
of Christ, and prepare himself devoutly to celebrate
Mass, which it fell to him to sing that morning.
And as he was meditating on the words of con-
secration of the Body of Christ, to wit, thinking
upon the infinite love of Christ, whereby He willed
not only to redeem us through His precious blood,
but also to leave us for the food of our souls His
most venerable Body and Blood, the love of the
sweet Jesu began to grow in him with such fervour
and such tenderness, that his soul might no more
endure, for the sweetness that it felt ; but he cried
aloud, and as if drunken in spirit, ceased not to say
within himself: '' Hoc est corpus meum ; '* for as
he spake these words he seemed to behold Christ,
the blessed One, with the Virgin Mary and a great
host of Angels, and was enlightened by the Holy
Spirit in all the deep and lofty mysteries of that
most high Sacrament. And when it was dawn, he
entered into the church with that same fervour of
spirit and anxious thought, and the selfsame words
upon his lips, not wotting that he was heard or seen
of any man ; but in the choir there was a certain
brother at prayer, that saw and heard all. And in
this fervour not being able to contain himself by
reason of the fulness of the divine grace, he cried
with a loud voice, and so continued until it was
time to say the Mass ; wherefore he went to make
himself ready for the altar. And when he had
begun the Mass, the further he proceeded, the more

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 155

did the love of Christ increase in him, and the fer-
vour of devotion, wherewith was given unto him
an unspeakable feeling of God, such as he himself
knew not of, nor could thereafter tell forth with
his tongue. Whereat fearing lest that fervour and
feeling of God should so much increase that he
needs must leave the Mass, he fell into much per-
plexity, and knew not what course to take, or to
go on with the Mass, or to stand and wait. But
for that the like case had befallen him on some
other time, and the Lord had so tempered that
fervour that there had been no need for him to
leave the Mass ; and trusting that this time too he
might be able to do the same, with great fear he
set himself to go on with the Mass, and went as
far as the Preface of Our Lady, when the divine
illumination and the gracious sweetness of the love
of God began so much to grow within him, that
coming to the dui pridie^ he could scarce endure
such utter sweetness. Having come at length to
the act of consecration, and having said one half
of the words over the Host, to wit : " Hoc est^^
he could by no means proceed further, but only
repeated the same words, to wit : " Hoc est enim^
And the reason wherefore he could proceed no
further, was this, that he felt and saw the presence
of Christ with a great company of Angels, whose
majesty he was not able to endure ; and he saw
that Christ entered not into the Host, or that the
Host was not changed into the body of Christ,
until he should utter the other half of the words,
to wit : " corpus meumT Wherefore as he abode
in this anxiety and could proceed no further, the

156 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

guardian and the other brothers, and likewise many
lay folk that were in the church for to hear Mass,
drew near unto the altar : and were astonished to
behold and see what things Brother John did : and
many of them were weeping out of devotion. At
the last, after long space, to wit, when so it pleased
God, Brother John uttered the words: " enim corpus
meum " in a loud voice ; and straightway the form
of the bread vanished, and in the Host appeared
Jesu Christ, the blessed One, incarnate and glori-
fied, and showed forth to him the humility and
love which made Him to become incarnate of the
Virgin Mary, and which makes Him every day to
come into the hands of the priest when he conse-
crates the Host : for the which cause he was the
more lifted up in sweetness of contemplation.
Wherefore when he had elevated the Host and the
consecrated chalice, he was rapt out of himself:
and his soul being lifted up above all bodily feel-
ings, his body fell backwards ; and if he had not
been supported by the guardian, who stood behind
him, he would have fallen on his back upon the
ground. Whereat the brothers running up to him,
and the lay folk, men and women, that were in the
church, he was carried into the sacristy, as one
dead, for his body was cold and the fingers of his
hands were so tightly clenched that scarce could
they at all be opened or moved. And in this
manner he lay as one half dead, or rapt away, even
until Tierce, and it was summer time. And be-
cause I, who was there present, desired much to
know what God had wrought in him, so soon as he
had returned to himself again, I went to him and

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 157

prayed him, for the love of God, to tell me all :
wherefore, seeing that he trusted much in me, he
told all unto me in order; and among other things,
he said, that as he was contemplating the body and
blood of Jesu Christ present before him, his heart
was melted like wax before the fire, and his flesh
seemed to be without bones, in such fashion that
he scarce could lift his arms or hands for to make
the sign of the cross over the Host or the chalice.
Likewise he told me that or ever he was made
priest, it had been revealed him of God that he
would faint away during the Mass, but seeing that
he had said many Masses, and this had not befallen
him, he deemed that the revelation had not been
of God. Nevertheless about fifty days before the
Assumption of Our Lady, whereon the aforesaid
hap befell him, it had been again revealed to him
by God that this needs must come to pass about the
said feast of the Assumption ; but that he did not
afterwards bear in mind the said vision, or revela-
tion, made to him by our Lord.

OF THE MOST HOLY STIGMATA OF
S. FRANCIS AND REFLECTIONS
THEREON

In this part we shall gaze with devout reflection
on the glorious and most holy Stigmata of our
blessed Father, S. Francis, the which he received
of Christ on His holy mount of Alvernia. And
for that the said Stigmata were five in number,
after the manner of the wounds of our Lord Jesu
Christ, therefore this treatise will have five re-
flections.

The first reflection will be touching the manner
in which S. Francis came to the holy mount of
Alvernia.

The second reflection will be touching the life
that he lived, and the converse that he held with
his companions on the said holy mount.

The third reflection will be touching the
seraphic vision and the imprinting of the most
holy Stigmata.

The fourth reflection will be of the manner in
which S. Francis came down from the mount of
Alvernia, after that he had received the holv Stig-
mata, and returned to S. Mary of the Angels.

The fifth reflection will be touching certain
divine apparitions and revelations made after the

death of S. Francis unto holy brothers and other

158

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 159

devout persons touching the said holy and glorious
Stigmata.

Of the first reflection on the most holy Stigmata

As touching the first reflection, ye must needs
know that S. Francis, being forty and three years
of age, in the year 1224, being inspired of God,
set out from the Vale of Spoleto for to go into
Romagna with Brother Leo his companion ; and
as they went, they passed by the foot of the Castle
of Montefeltro ; in the which Castle there was at
that time a great company of gentle folk, and
much feasting, by reason of the knighting of one
of the same Counts of Montefeltro. And S.
Francis, hearing of the festivities that were holden
there and how that many gentle folk of divers
countries were there gathered together, spake unto
Brother Leo : *' Let us go up unto this feast, for
with the help of God we may win some good fruit
of souls." Among the other gentle folk from
that country, that were of that knightly company,
was a great and eke a wealthy gentleman of
Tuscany, by name Orlando da Chiusi, of Casen-
tino ; who by reason of the marvellous things
that he had heard of the sanctity and the miracles
of S. Francis, bore him great devotion, and felt
an exceeding strong desire to see him and to hear
him preach. Coming to the castle, S. Francis
entered in, and came to the courtyard where all
that great company of gentle folk was gathered
together, and in fervour of spirit stood up
upon a parapet, and began to preach, taking as

i6o THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

the text of his sermon these words in the vulgar
tongue :

So great the joys I have in sight,
That every sorrow brings delight ;

and upon this text, as the Holy Spirit gave him
utterance, he preached so devoutly and sublimely,
citing as proof thereof the divers pains and
martyrdoms of the holy Apostles and the holy
Martyrs, and the hard penances of the holy Con-
fessors, and the many tribulations and tempta-
tions of the holy Virgins and the other saints, that
all the folk stood with their eyes and their minds
turned towards him, and gave such heed as
though it were an angel of God speaking : among
the which the said Orlando, touched in the heart
by God through the marvellous preaching of S.
Francis, set it in his heart to confer and to have
speech with S. Francis, after the sermon, touching
the state of his soul. Therefore, when the preach-
ing was done, he drew S. Francis aside, and said
unto him : '' O father, I would confer with thee
touching the salvation of my soul." Replied S.
Francis : " It pleaseth me right well ; but go this
morning and do honour to thy friends, who have
called thee to the feast, and dine with them ;
and after thou hast dined, we will speak toge-
ther as much as thou wilt." So Orlando gat him
to the dinner : and after that he had dined, he
returned to S Francis, and conferred with him,
and set forth unto him fully the state of his soul.
And at the end, this Orlando said to S. Francis :
" I have in Tuscany a mountain, most proper
for devotion, the which is called the Mount of

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI i6i'

Alvernia, and is very lonely and right well fitted
for whoso may wish to do penance in a place re-
mote from men, or whoso may desire to live a
solitary life ; if it should please thee, right will-
ingly would I give it to thee and thy companions
for the salvation of my soul." S. Francis hear-
ing this liberal offer of the thing that he so much
desired, rejoiced with exceeding great joy ; and
praising and giving thanks first to God and then
to Orlando, he spake thus : " Orlando, when you
have returned to your house, I will send unto you
certain of my companions and you shall show
them that mountain ; and if it shall seem to them
well fitted for prayer and penitence, I accept your
loving offer even now." And this said, S. Francis
departed : and when his journey was done, returned
to S. Mary of the Angels : and likewise Orlando,
when the festivities of that knightly company
were over, returned to his castle, which was called
Chiusi, the which was but a mile distant from
Alvernia. Whenas S. Francis had returned to S.
Mary of the Angels, he sent two of his companions
to the said Orlando ; who when they were come
to him, were received of him with exceeding great
joy and charity. And desiring to show them the
mount of Alvernia, he sent with them full fifty
men-at-arms to defend them from the wild beasts
of the wood, and thus accompanied these brothers
climbed up the mountain and searched diligently ;
and at last they came to a part of the mountain
that was well fitted for devotion and contemplation;
for in that part there was some level ground ; and
this place they chose out for them and for S. Francis

L

1 62 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

to dwell therein ; and with the help of the men-at-
arms that bore them company, they made a little
cell of branches of trees : and so they accepted in
the name of God, and took possession of the
mount of Alvernia and of the dwelling-place of
the brothers on the mountain, and departed, and
returned to S. Francis. And when they were come
unto him, they told him how and in what manner
they had taken a place on the mount of Alvernia,
most fitted for prayer and meditation. Hearing
these tidings, S. Francis was right glad, and praising
and giving thanks to God, he spake to those
brothers with joyful countenance, and said : '* My
sons, our forty days' fast of S. Michael the Arch-
angel draweth near : I firmly believe that it is the
will of God that we keep this fast on the mount of
Alvernia, which by divine decree hath been made
ready for us, to the end that to the honour and
glory of God and of His Mother, the glorious
Virgin Mary, and of the holy Angels, we may,
through penance, merit at the hands of Christ the
consolation of consecrating this blessed mountain.''
And thus saying, S. Francis took with him Brother
Masseo of Marignano by Assisi, the which was
a man of great eloquence ; and Brother Angelo
Tancredi of Rieti, the which was a man of very
gentle birth and in the world had been a knight ;
and Brother Leo, a man of exceeding great sim-
plicity and purity, for the which cause S. Francis
loved him much. And with these three brothers
S. Francis set himself to pray, commended himself
and his companions aforesaid to the prayers of the
brothers that remained behind, and set out with

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 163

those three in the name of Jesu Christ, the Cruci-
fied, for to go to the mount of Alvernia. And as
he went, S. Francis called unto one of those three
companions, to wit. Brother Masseo, and said unto
him: *' Thou, Brother Masseo, shalt be our guardian
and our superior in this journey, to wit, so long
as we be going and staying together, and we will
observe our rule, to wit, that we be either saying
the office, or speaking of God, or keeping silence,
and that we take no thought beforehand, either of
eating or drinking or sleeping: but when it is time
to seek a lodging, we will beg a little bread, and
stay and rest in the place that God may make ready
for us." Then the three companions bowed their
heads, and making the sign of the cross, went on
their way : and on the first night they came to a
house of the brothers and lodged there. On the
second night, by reason of the bad weather and be-
cause they were tired, not being able to reach any
house of the brothers or any castle or village, the
night overtaking them, and bad weather, they took
refuge in a deserted and dismantled church, and
there laid them down to rest. And while his com-
panions slept, S. Francis threw himself on his knees
to pray ; and behold in the first watch of the night
there came a great multitude of demons, exceeding
fierce, with a great noise and tumult, and began to
do him grievous battle and annoy ; whereby the
one plucked him this way and the other that ; one
dragged him up and another down; one threatened
him with one thing, and the other accused him of
another; and thus in divers manners they sought
to distract him from his prayer ; but they could

164 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

not, for that God was with him. Therefore whenas
S. Francis had enough endured these assaults of
the demons, he began to cry in a loud voice : " O
damned spirits, ye can do naught, save what the
hand of God alloweth you : wherefore in the name
of God Almighty I bid you do unto my body
whatever is permitted you of God; for gladly shall
I bear it, sith I have no greater enemy than my
body : and therefore if you avenge me of mine
enemy, ye will do me good service." Then the
demons with great fury and violence took hold of
him, and began to drag him through the church,
and to do him greater trouble and annoy than at
the first. Thereat S. Francis began to cry aloud,
and said : " My Lord Jesu Christ, I give Thee
thanks for the so great honour and charity that
Thou showest me ; for it is a token of great love
when the Lord punishes His servant for all his
faults in this world, so that he be not punished in
the next. And I am ready gladly to endure every
pain and adversity, that Thou, my God, dost will
to send me for my sins." Then the demons, put
to confusion and vanquished by his patience and
endurance, were away. And S. Francis in fervour
of spirit left the church and entered into a wood
that was there hard by, and threw himself upon his
knees in prayer ; and with prayers and tears and
beating of the breast he sought to find Jesu Christ,
the spouse and the delight of his soul.

And at the last finding Him in the secret places
of his soul, he now bespake him with reverence as
his Lord : now made answer to Him as his judge ;
now besought Him as his father ; now held con-

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 165

verse with Him as with a friend. On that night
within the wood, his companions, sith they were
awake and were come to hear and mark what he
did, saw and heard him, with tears and cries,
devoutly beseeching God to have mercy upon
sinners. Then was he seen and heard to weep
with a loud voice over the Passion of Christ, as
though he saw it with his own eyes. On that
self same night they beheld him praying with his
arms stretched out in the form of a cross, for a
great space uplifted and floating above the earth,
and surrounded by a cloud of glory. And so in
such holy exercises he passed the whole night
through without sleep. And thereafter in the
morning, his companions, being ware that through
the fatigues of the night, which he had passed
without sleep, S. Francis was much weakened in
body and could but ill go on his way afoot, went
to a poor peasant of those parts, and begged him,
for the love of God, to lend his ass for Brother
Francis, their Father, that could not go afoot.
Hearing them make mention of Brother Francis,
he asked them : " Are ye of the brethren of that
brother of Assisi, of whom so much good is
spoken ? " The brothers answered : " Yes," and
that in very sooth it was for him that they asked
for the sumpter beast. Then the good man, with
great diligence and devotion, made ready the ass,
and brought it to S. Francis, and with great
reverence let mount him thereon, and they went
on their way ; and he with them, behind his ass.
And when they had gone on a little way, the
peasant said to S. Francis: '*Tell me, art thou

1 66 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

Brother Francis of Assisi ? " Replied S. Francis :
"Yes." " Try then/' said the peasant, ** to be
as good as thou art of all folk held to be, seeing
that many have great faith in thee ; and therefore,
I admonish thee that in thee there be naught save
what men hope to find therein." Hearing these
words, S. Francis thought no scorn to be ad-
monished by a peasant, nor said within himself :
*' What beast is this doth admonish me ì " as many
proud folk that wear the cowl would say now-a-
days ; but straightway he threw himself from off
the ass upon the ground, and kneeled him down
before him, and kissed his feet ; and thus humbly
thanked him for that he had deigned thus lovingly
to admonish him. Then the peasant, together
with the companions of S. Francis, with great
devotion lifted him from the ground and set him
on the ass again, and they went on their way.
And when that they were come about half way
up the mountain, as the heat was very great and
the ascent was weary, the peasant became very
thirsty, in such sort that he began to cry aloud
behind S. Francis, saying : " Woe is me, for I die
of thirst : if I find not something to drink, I shall
choke outright." Wherefore S. Francis got down
off the ass and fell on his knees in prayer ; and
remained so long kneeling with his hands lifted up
to heaven, until he knew by revelation that God
had heard his prayer. Then said S. Francis to
the peasant : " Run quickly to that rock, and there
shalt thou find the living water, which Jesu Christ
in this hour, of His mercy, hath made to come
forth from out that rock." So he ran to the place

rHK lilRDS WKLCOMINO S. FRANCIS TO MONTE ALVKRNIA

( /''ro>n Descrizione del Sacro Monte della Vernia. Plate CJ

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI i6>

that S. Francis had shown him, and found a fair
spring that had been brought out of the hard rock
by virtue of the prayer of S. Francis : and he drank
his fill thereof and was comforted. And it doth
well appear that this spring was brought out by
God in miraculous fashion at the prayers of S.
Francis, seeing that neither before nor after was
there ever seen in that place a spring of water, nor
any living water near to that place for a great
space round. This done, S. Francis with his com-
panions and the peasant gave thanks unto God for
the miracle shown forth to them, and then went
they on their way. And as they drew near to
the foot of the rock of Alvernia itself, it pleased
S. Francis to rest a little under the oak that was
by the way, and is there to this day ; and as he
stood under it, S. Francis began to take note of
the situation of the place and of the country round.
And as he was thus gazing, lo ! there came a great
multitude of birds from divers parts, the which,
with singing and flapping of their wings, all showed
joy and gladness exceeding great, and came about
S. Francis in such fashion that some settled on his
head, some on his shoulders, and some on his arms,
some in his lap, and some round his feet. When
his companions and the peasant marvelled, behold-
ing this, S. Francis, all joyful in spirit, spake thus
unto them : " I believe, brothers most dear, that
it is pleasing unto our Lord Jesu Christ that we
should dwell in this lonely mountain, seeing that
our little sisters and brothers the birds show such
joy at our coming/' And said these words, they
arose, and went on their way and came at last to

1 68 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

the place that his companions had first chosen.
And this is touching the first reflection, to wit,
how S. Francis came to the holy mount of
Alvernia.

Of the second reflection on the most holy Stigmata

The second reflection is on the sojourning of
S. Francis with his companions on the said mount
of Alvernia. And as to this, ye must know that
Orlando, hearing that S. Francis with three com-
panions had climbed up the mount of Alvernia,
for to dwell there, rejoiced with exceeding great
joy, and on the following day set out with many of
the folk of his castle, and came to visit S. Francis,
bringing with him bread and wine and other
victuals, for him and his companions ; and being
come there, he found them at prayer ; and drawing
near unto them, saluted them. Then S. Francis
arose, and with great love and gladness gave wel-
come to Orlando and his company ; and this done,
they sat them down to have speech of each other.
And after they had somewhat spoken together, and
S. Francis had returned him thanks for the holy
mountain that he had given him, and for his coming
thither, he besought him that he would let build
a poor little cell at the foot of a fair beech tree,
the which was a stone's throw from the place
where the brothers lived, for that place seemed
to him very fit and hallowed for prayer. And
straightway Orlando let build it ; and this done,
as it was drawing near unto evening and it was
time for them to depart, S. Francis preached unto

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 169

them a little, before they took leave of him ; and
when he had preached unto them and given them
his blessing, Orlando, finding he must needs de-
part, called S. Francis and his companions aside,
and said unto them : "My brothers most dear, I
would not have you suffer any bodily want in this
wild mountain, whereby you may be the less able
to give heed to spiritual things : and therefore I
desire, and this I say to you for once, for all, that
ye securely send to my house for whatsoe'er ye
need, and if ye do otherwise, I shall take it ill of
you." And this said, he departed with his com-
pany and returned to his castle. Then S. Francis
made his companions to sit down and taught them
what manner of life they ought to lead, both they
and whoso desireth to live the religious life in a
hermitage. And among other things, he straitly
laid on them the observance of holy poverty, saying:
" Take not such heed unto the charitable offer of
Orlando, lest ye in any thing offend our Lady and
Madonna, holy poverty. Be ye sure that the more
we despise poverty, the more will the world de-
spise us, and the more shall we suffer want ; but
if we cling to holy poverty with a close embrace,
the whole world will follow after us and will
abundantly provide for us. God hath called us
into this holy Order for the salvation of the world,
and hath made this pact between us and the world,
that we give unto the world a good example and
the world make provision for our needs. Let us
then persevere in holy poverty, seeing that this is
the way of perfectness and is an earnest and pledge
of eternal riches." And after many beautiful and

lyo THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

holy words and admonishments on this matter, he
ended by saying : " This is the manner of life that
I lay upon myself and upon you ; and sith I see
that I draw near unto death, I am minded to be
solitary, and to take refuge with God, and to
bewail my sins before Him ; and Brother Leo,
when it seemeth to him good, shall bring to me
a little bread and a little water ; and do ye in no
wise suffer any that be of the world to come nigh
me, but do ye answer them for me/* And said
these words, he gave them his blessing and went
to his cell under the beech tree, and his companions
remained in their own place, with firm purpose to
do the bidding of S. Francis. A few days there-
after, as S. Francis was standing hard by the said
cell, pondering on the form of the mountain, and
marvelling at the huge clefts and openings in the
mighty rocks, he set himself to pray : and then it
was revealed to him of God that those marvellous
clefts had been miraculously made in the hour of
the Passion of Christ, when, as saith the Evangelist,
the rocks were rent asunder. And it was the will
of God that this should in especial manner be made
manifest upon that mount of Alvernia, for that
there the Passion of our Lord Jesu Christ should
be renewed in his soul through love and pity, and
in his body through the imprinting of the most
holy Stigmata. So soon as he had received this
revelation, straightway S. Francis shut himself up
in his cell and was wholly wrapped within himself,
and set himself to pay heed unto the mystery of
that revelation. And from that time forth S.
Francis, through unceasing prayer, began more oft

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 171

to taste the sweetness of divine contemplation,
whereby he oftentimes was rapt in God, so that
he was seen by his companions to be lifted bodily
from off the ground, and altogether taken out of
himself. In these raptures of contemplation, there
were revealed to him of God not only things present
and to come, but also the secret thoughts and de-
sires of the brothers, even as Brother Leo, his
companion, had proof thereof in himself that day.
The which Brother Leo being assailed by the devil
with a grievous temptation, not of the flesh but
of the spirit, there came to him a great desire to
have some devout sentence written by the hand of
S. Francis, for he thought that if he had it, that
temptation would leave him, or wholly, or in part.
Having this desire, yet for shame and reverence
sake he dared not tell it to S. Francis : but what
Brother Leo told him not, that did the Holy
Spirit reveal. Wherefore S. Francis called him
unto him, and made him bring ink-pot and pen
and paper : and with his own hand wrote the
praises of Christ, even as the brother had desired ;
and at the end he made the sign Tau, and gave
it to him, saying : '* Take this paper, dear brother,
and keep it diligently until thy death. May God
bless thee and guard thee against all temptation.
Be not downcast, because thou hast temptations ;
for at such time I deem thee a friend and a better
servant of God, and the more thou art assailed by
temptations, the more do I love thee. Verily I
say unto thee that no man should deem himself
a true friend of God, save in so far as he hath
passed through many temptations and tribula-

172 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

tions." When Brother Leo took this writing
with great devotion and faith, straightway all his
temptation left him ; and returning to his own
place, he told his companions, with great joy, what
grace God had shown unto him when he took the
writing from S. Francis ; and putting it aside and
taking diligent care thereof, the brothers after-
wards worked many miracles by its means. And
from that hour forth, the said Brother Leo with
great purity and with good intention began to keep
watch upon and to observe the life of S. Francis :
and for his purity's sake, he merited to see S.
Francis full many and many a time rapt in God
and uplifted from the earth, at one time to the
height of three cubits, at another to that of four,
at another to the height of the beech tree : and at
another time he beheld him lifted up in the air so
high, and surrounded with such splendour, that
he scarce could see him. And what did this simple
brother do, when S. Francis was uplifted from the
earth but a little way, so that he could reach him ì
He went softly to him and embraced his feet and
kissed them, and spake with tears : " My God,
have mercy on me a sinner, and through the merits
of this holy man grant me to find Thy grace.''
And one time among others, as thus he stood
beneath the feet of S. Francis when he was lifted
up so far that he could not touch him, he saw a
scroll written in letters of gold come down from
heaven, and rest on the head of S. Francis, and on
the scroll were written these words : " Here is the
grace of God ; " and after that he had read it, he
saw it return to heaven. Through the gift of that

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S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 173

grace of God that was in him, S. Francis was not
only rapt in God in ecstatic contemplation, but
also at sundry times comforted by the visitation of
angels. Thus, as S. Francis was one day thinking
on his death and of the state of his Order when
his life was done, and saying : " O Lord God,
what will become of Thy poor little family after
my death, the which of Thy goodness Thou hast
entrusted to me a sinner ? who will pray to Thee
for them ? " and other such words, there appeared
unto him an Angel sent by God, and comforted
him, saying : " I tell thee in the name of God, that
the profession of the Order will never fail until
the Day of Judgment, and there will be no sinner
so great as not to find mercy with God, if with
his whole heart he love thine Order ; and none
shall live long, that of malice persecutes thy Order.
Moreover no very wicked person within thy Order,
that does not amend his life, will be able to remain
long in the Order. Wherefore grieve not thyself,
if in thine Order thou see certain that be not good
brothers and do not observe the Rule as they ought,
and think not that thereby this Order will decline ;
for always a many shall be found therein that will
perfectly observe the Gospel life of Christ and the
purity of the Rule ; and all such, immediately
after the death of the body, shall go into life
eternal without passing at all through Purgatory ;
some will observe it, but not perfectly, and these
before they go to Paradise, will be in Purgatory,
but the time of their purification shall be left by
God to thee. But of him that observes not the
Rule at all, do thou take no heed, saith God, for

174 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

of such He Himself taketh no heed." And said
these words, the Angel was away, and S. Francis
remained comforted and consoled. Thereafter, as
the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady drew
near, S. Francis sought how he might find a place
more solitary and secret, wherein he might the
more solitary keep the forty days' fast of S.
Michael the Archangel, which beginneth with the
said feast of the Assumption. Wherefore he
called unto him Brother Leo, and said : "Go and
stand in the doorway of the oratory where the
brothers lodge, and when I call thee, return to
me again." So Brother Leo went; and stood in
the doorway ; and S. Francis withdrew himself a
little space, and called aloud. Hearing him call,
Brother Leo returned to him again ; and S. Francis
said to him : '' Son, let us seek for another more
secret place, where thovi canst not thuswise hear
me when I call."

And as they searched, they found on the side
of the mountain that looked towards the south,
a lonely place and very proper for his purpose ;
but they could not win there ; because in front
there was a horrible and fearful cleft in a huge
rock ; wherefore with great pains they laid a piece
of wood over it as a bridge and got across to the
other side. Then S. Francis sent for the other
brothers and told them how he was minded to
keep the forty days' fast of S. Michael in that
lonely place ; and therefore he besought them to
make him a little cell there, so that no cry of his
could be heard by them. And when the cell was
made, S. Francis said to them : " Go ye to your

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 175

own place, and leave me here alone, for, with the
help of God, I am minded to keep the fast here,
without disturbance or distraction, and therefore
let none of you come unto me, nor suffer any lay
folk to come to me. But, Brother Leo, thou alone
shalt come to me, once a day, with a little bread
and water, and at night once again at the hour of
Matins; and then shalt thou come to me in silence,
and when thou art at the bridge-head, thou shalt
say : ' Domine^ labia me a aperies ; ' and if I answer
thee, cross over and come to the cell, and we will
say Matins together; and if I answer thee not, then
depart straightway." And this S. Francis said be-
cause at certain times he had been so rapt in God,
that he nor heard nor felt aught with the bodily
senses. And this said, S. Francis gave them his
blessing ; and they went back again to their own
place. And the feast of the Assumption being now
come, S. Francis began the holy fast with great
abstinence and severity, mortifying his body and
comforting his spirit with fervent prayers, vigils,
and scourgings ; and in these prayers ever grow-
ing from virtue to virtue he made ready his soul
to receive the divine mysteries and the divine splen-
dours, and his body to endure the cruel assaults
of the demons, with whom he oftentimes fought
in sensible form ; and among others, it befell on
a time during that fast, that S. Francis leaving his
cell one day in fervour of spirit and going aside
a little to pray in a hollow of the rock, from the
which down to the ground is an exceeding deep
descent and a horrible and fearful precipice, — sud-
denly the devil came in terrible shape, with a

176 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

tempest and exceeding loud roar, and struck at
him for to push him down thence. S. Francis,
not having where to flee, and not being able to
endure the grim aspect of the demon, he turned
him quickly with hands and face and all his body
pressed to the rock, commending himself to God,
and groping with his hands, if perchance he might
find aught to cling to. But as it pleased God, who
sufFereth not His servants to be tempted above
that they are able to bear, suddenly by a miracle
the rock to which he clung hollowed itself out in
fashion as the shape of his body, and so received
him into itself, and like as if he had put his hands
and face in melted wax, even so was the form of
the face and hands of S. Francis imprinted on the
rock ; and thuswise helped of God he escaped out
of the hands of the demon. But that which the
demon could not then do unto S. Francis, to wit,
push him down thence, he did a good while after
the death of S. Francis, unto one of his dear and
pious brothers, who was setting in order some pieces
of wood in the selfsame place, to the end that it
might be possible to win there without peril, out
of devotion to S. Francis and the miracle that was
wrought there ; on a day the demon pushed him,
while he had on his head a great log that he wished
to set there, and made him fall down thence with
the log upon his head. But God that had preserved
and delivered S. Francis from falling, through his
merits delivered and preserved his pious brother
from the peril of his fall : for the brother, as he
fell, with exceeding great devotion commended
himself in a loud voice unto S. Francis ; and

S. KKANCIS ASSAULTKlJ HY THKDKVIL, ON MONTE ALVKRNIA

( l''rom Descrizione del Sacro Monte <{ella l'ernia. Fiate N)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 177

straightway he appeared unto him, and catching
him, set him down upon the rocks, without suffer-
ing him to feel or shock or any hurt. Then the
other brothers having heard his cry as he fell, and
deeming him dead and dashed in pieces by reason
of his fall from such a height upon the sharp rocks,
with great sorrow and weeping took up the bier
and came from the other side of the mountain for
to gather up the fragments of his body and bury
them. When they were now come down from the
mountain, that brother that had fallen met them
with the log upon his head wherewith he had fallen,
and he was singing Te Deum laudamus in a loud
voice. And the brothers marvelling exceedingly,
he told unto them in order all the manner of his
falling and how S. Francis had delivered him from
all peril. Then all the brothers went with him
to the place, singing most devoutly the aforesaid
psalm. Te Deum laudamus^ and praising and giving
thanks to God and to S. Francis for the miracle
that He had wrought upon their brother. Now
while S. Francis was keeping the aforesaid fast, as
hath been set forth above, albeit he suffered many
assaults of the evil one, nevertheless he received
of God much consolation, not only through the
visits of angels, but also through the birds of the
wood. For during all the time of that fast, a
falcon, that was building her nest hard by his
cell, woke him every night a little before Matins,
with her singing and the beating of her wings
against the cell, and went not away until he rose
up to say Matins ; and when perchance S. Francis
was at one time more wearied than at another,

M

178 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

or sickly or weak, this falcon, like a discreet person
and pitiful, would sing her song later. And so
S. Francis had great joy of this clock ; for the
great carefulness of the falcon kept far from him
all idleness, and spurred him on to pray ; and be-
yond all this, she would sometimes in the day-
time sit quite tamely by him. Finally, as touch-
ing this second reflection, S. Francis being much
weakened in body through his sharp abstinence,
and through the assaults of the devil, and desiring
to comfort the body with the spiritual food of the
soul, began to think on the immeasurable glory and
joy of the blessed in the life eternal ; and there-
withal began to pray God to grant him the grace of
tasting a little of that joy. And as he continued
in this thought, suddenly there appeared unto him
an Angel with exceeding great splendour, having
a viol in his left hand and in his right the bow ;
and as S. Francis stood all amazed at the sight of
him, the Angel drew the bow once across the viol ;
and straightway S. Francis was ware of such sweet
melody that his soul melted away for very sweet-
ness and was lifted up above all bodily feeling ; in-
somuch that, as he afterwards told his companions,
he doubted that, if the Angel had drawn the bow a
second time across the strings, his mind would have
left his body for the all too utter sweetness thereof.
And this touching the second reflection.

Of the third reflection on the most holy Stigmata

Coming to the third reflection, to wit, on the
seraphic vision and the imprinting of the most holy

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 179

Stigmata, ye must needs know, that as the time of
the feast of the most holy Cross drew near, in the
month of September, one night Brother Leo went
to the wonted place and at the wonted hour for
to say Matins with S. Francis ; and when he said
Domine^ labia mea aperies from the bridge-head as
was his wont, and S. Francis made no answer.
Brother Leo did not go back again, as S. Francis
had given him commandment ; but with a good
and holy intention, he crossed the bridge and en-
tered softly into his cell, and not finding him, he
thought that he might be praying somewhere in
the wood : wherefore he came out again, and by
the light of the moon went softly searching through
the wood : and at last he heard the voice of S.
Francis, and, drawing near, saw him on his knees
in prayer, with face and hands raised up to Heaven ;
and in fervour of spirit he was saying : *' Who art
thou, O most sweet my God ? What am I, most
vile worm and Thine unprofitable servant ? " And
these selfsame words he said again and again, and
spake no word beside. For the which cause Brother
Leo, marvelling thereat, lifted up his eyes unto
heaven ; and as he looked, he saw coming down
from heaven a torch of flame exceeding beautiful
and bright, which, descending, rested on the head
of S. Francis : and out of the flame there came a
voice that spake with S. Francis, but Brother Leo
could not understand the words. Hearing this,
and deeming himself unworthy to stand so close
to the holy place where that wondrous apparition
was revealed, and fearing moreover to offend S.
Francis and disturb him in his contemplation, if

i8o THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

perchance he should perceive him, he softly drew
back, and standing afar off, waited to see the end :
and gazing with eyes fixed, he saw S. Francis
stretch out his hands three times to the flame : and
at the last after long space of time he saw the flame
return to heaven. So, gladdened by the vision, he
softly turned away for to go to his cell again. And
as he was going softly, deeming himself unseen, S.
Francis was aware of him by the rustling of the
leaves beneath his feet, and bade him wait for him,
and not to move. Then Brother Leo, obedient,
stood still and waited with such fear that, as he
afterwards told his companions, at that moment
he would rather that the earth had swallowed him
up than wait for S. Francis, who he thought would
be displeased with him : for with great diligence
he took heed not to offend his father, lest for his
fault S. Francis might deprive him of his company.
Then S. Francis coming up to him, asked him :
'^ Who art thou ? " And Brother Leo all trembling
answered : *'I am Brother Leo, my father.'* And
S. Francis said unto him : '* Wherefore art thou
come hither, brother little sheep ? have I not told
thee not to come watching me ? Tell me by holy
obedience whether thou hast seen or heard aught.'*
Replied Brother Leo : " Father, I heard thee speak
and say several times : Who art thou, O most
sweet my God ? What am I, most vile worm and
Thine unprofitable servant ? " Then Brother Leo,
kneeling down before S. Francis, confessed the
fault of disobedience that he had committed
against his bidding, and besought his pardon with
many tears. And thereafter he devoutly prayed

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI i8i

him to interpret unto him the words that he had
heard, and to tell him what were those that he had
not understood. Then S. Francis seeing that God
had revealed unto the humble Brother Leo, or
had permitted him to hear and see certain things,
for his simplicity and purity's sake, deigned to
reveal and interpret unto him that which he had
asked ; and he spake thus : " Know, brother little
sheep of Jesu Christ, that when I spake the words
that thou didst hear, then were shown to my soul
two lights, the one of the knowledge and under-
standing of myself, the other of the knowledge
and understanding of the Creator. When I said :
Who art thou, O most sweet my God ^ then was
I in a light of contemplation, in the which I saw
the abyss of the infinite goodness and wisdom and
power of God, and when I said. What am I .^ I
was in a light of contemplation in the which I saw
the lamentable depth of my own vileness and
misery ; and therefore I said : Who art thou, Lord
of infinite goodness and wisdom, that dost deign
to visit me, that am a vile worm and abominable ?
And in the flame that thou sawest, was God : who
spake in such manner unto me, even as in old time
He had spoken unto Moses. And among the
other things that he said unto me. He asked me
to give Him three gifts ; and I answered Him :
My Lord, I am wholly Thine : Thou knowest
well, that I have naught else save the tunic and
the cord and the hose, and even these three things
are thine ; what then can I offer and give unto
Thy Majesty ^ Then God said unto me : Search
in thy bosom and give me what thou findest there.

1 82 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

So I searched and found a ball of gold ; and I
offered it to God ; and so did I three times, as God
three times gave me commandment : and then I
kneeled down three times, and blessed and gave
thanks unto God, that had given me what to offer
unto Him. And straightway it was given me to
understand, that the meaning of these three offer-
ings was holy obedience, most high poverty, and
glorious chastity, the which God by His grace hath
granted me to observe so perfectly that in naught
doth my conscience reprove me. And even as thou
didst see me put my hands into my bosom and
offer to God these three virtues signified under the
form of the three balls of gold, which God had
put into my bosom ; even so hath God given me
virtue within my soul, that for all the benefits and
all the graces that He hath granted me of His
most holy goodness, I alway praise and magnify
Him with my heart and lips. These are the words
that thou didst hear when I lifted up my hand
three times, as thou sawest. But take heed, brother
little sheep, that thou come not watching me, and
return to thy cell with the blessing of God, and do
thou have a tender care of me ; for a few days
hence God will do so great things in this mountain
that all the world will marvel ; sith He will per-
form certain new things, the which He hath never
done unto any creature in this world.'' And said
these words, he bade him bring the book of the
Gospels; for God had put it into his soul that by
the opening of the book of the Gospels three times,
it would be revealed to him what it was the will
of God to do with him. And when the book was

Sa ■.tetta /ìiiiliiii^toii Afaf^aziiie

THK MAkkIAOK OV S. IKANCIS TO l'OVERTY

(Chantilly : t/ (il so List «/ llliistrcitions)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 183

brought, S. Francis threw himself on his knees in
prayer : when he had done praying, he let open
the book three times by the hand of Brother Leo,
in the name of the most holy Trinity ; and as it
pleased the divine providence, on each of those
three times there appeared before him the passion
of Christ. For the which cause it was given him
to understand that even as he had followed Christ
in the acts of his life, so ought he to follow Him
and be conformed to Him in His afflictions and
sorrows and in His passion, before he passed away
from this life. And from that time forth, S.
Francis began more plenteously to taste and feel
the sweetness of divine contemplation and of the
divine visitings. Among the which he had one
that was an immediate preparation for the im-
printing of the most holy Stigmata, and it was
after this manner. On the day before the feast
of the most holy Cross, in the month of Septem-
ber, as S. Francis was praying in secret in his cell,
there appeared unto him the Angel of God, and
bespake him in the name of God : '' I am come to
comfort and admonish thee, that thou make thy-
self ready and set thyself in order, humbly with
all patience to receive whatsoever God will give to
thee and work in thee." Replied S. Francis : " I am
ready to endure with patience all things whatsoever
my Lord may will to do unto me : " and this said,
the angel was away. So the next day came, to wit,
the day of the most holy Cross : and early in the
morning before dawn, S. Francis fell on his knees
in prayer in front of the entrance to his cell, and
turning his face towards the East, prayed in this

1 84 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

manner : " Oh my Lord Jesu Christ, I pray Thee
grant me two graces, before I die : the first, that
in my life-time I may feel in my soul and in my
body, so far as may be, the pain that Thou, sweet
Lord, didst bear in the hour of Thy most bitter
passion ; the second is, that I may feel in my heart,
as far as may be, that exceeding love, wherewith
Thou, O Son of God, wast kindled to willingly
endure such agony for us sinners." And as he
thus continued a long time in prayer, he came to
know that God would hear him and that as far as
was possible for the mere creature, so far would it
be granted him to feel the things aforesaid. Having
this promise, S. Francis began with exceeding great
devotion to contemplate the passion of Christ and
His infinite love : and the fervour of devotion so
grew in him that he was altogether transformed
into Jesu through love and pity. And as he was
thuswise set on fire in this contemplation, on that
same morn he saw descend from heaven a Seraph
with six wings resplendent and aflame, and as with
swift flight the Seraph drew nigh unto S. Francis,
so that he could discern him, he clearly saw that
he bore in him the image of a man crucified : and
his wings were in such guise displayed, that two
wings were spread above his head, two were spread
out to fly, and the other twain covered all his body.
Seeing this, S. Francis was sore adread, and was
filled at once with joy and grief and marvel. He
felt exceeding joy at the gracious look of Christ,
who appeared to him so lovingly, and gazed on him
so graciously : but on the other hand, seeing him
crucified upon the cross, he felt immeasurable grief

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 185

for pity's sake. Therewith, he marvelled much at
so amazing and unwonted a vision, knowing full
well that the weakness of the Passion agreeth not
with the immortality of the seraphic spirit. And
as he thus marvelled, it was revealed by Him that
appeared to him : that by divine providence this
vision had been shown in such form, to the end
that he might understand that not by the martyr-
dom of the body, but by the enkindling of his
mind, must he needs be wholly transformed into
the express image of Christ Crucified, in that won-
drous apparition. Then the whole mount of Al-
vernia appeared as though it burned with bright-
shining flames, that lit up all the mountains and
valleys round as though it had been the sun upon
the earth ; whereby the shepherds, that were keep-
ing watch in those parts, seeing the mountain
aflame and so great a light around, had exceeding
great fear, according as they afterwards told unto
the brothers, declaring that this flame rested upon
the mount of Alvernia for the space of an hour and
more. In like manner, at the bright shining of
this light, which through the windows lit up the
hostels of the country round, certain muleteers that
were going into Romagna, arose, believing that the
day had dawned, and saddled and laded their beasts:
and going on their way, they saw the said light die
out and the material sun arise. In the said seraphic
apparition, Christ, the which appeared to him, spake
to S. Francis certain high and secret things, the
which S. Francis in his life-time desired not to re-
veal to any man : but after his life was done, he did
reveal them, as is set forth below ; and the words

1 86 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

were these : " Knowest thou," said Christ, '' what
it is that I have done unto thee ? I have given
thee the Stigmata, that are the signs of my passion,
to the end that thou mayest be my standard-bearer.
And even as on the day of my death I descended
into hell and brought out thence all the souls that
I found there by virtue of these my Stigmata :
even so do I grant to thee that every year on the
day of thy death thou shalt go to Purgatory, and
in virtue of thy Stigmata shalt bring out thence all
the souls of thy three Orders, to wit, Minors, Sisters
and Continents, and likewise others that shall have
had a great devotion unto thee, and shalt lead them
unto the glory of Paradise, to the end that thou
mayest be conformed to me in death, as thou art
in life." Then this marvellous vision vanishing
away, after long space and secret converse, left in
the heart of S. Francis an exceeding ardour and
flame of love divine : and in his flesh a marvellous
image and copy of the passion of Christ. For
straightway in the hands and feet of S. Francis
began to appear the marks of the nails, in such
wise as he had seen them in the body of Jesu Christ,
the Crucified, the which had shown Himself to
him in the likeness of a seraph : ami thus his hands
and feet appeared to be pierced through the middle
with nails, and the heads of them were in the palms
of his hands and the soles of his feet outside the
flesh, and their points came out on the back of his
hands and of his feet, so that they seemed bent
back and rivetted in such fashion that under the
bend and rivetting, which all stood out above the
flesh, might easily be put a finger of the hand, as

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 187

in a ring : and the heads of the nails were round
and black. Likewise in the right side appeared an
image of a wound made by a lance, unhealed, and
red and bleeding, the which afterwards ofttimes
dropped blood from the sacred breast of S. Francis,
and stained with blood his tunic and his hose.
Wherefore his companions before they knew it
of his own lips, perceiving nevertheless that he
uncovered not his hands and feet, and that he
could not put the soles of his feet to the ground ;
and afterwards finding his tunic and his hose all
stained with blood, what time they washed them,
knew of a surety that in his hands and feet and
likewise in his side he bore the express image and
similitude of our Lord Jesu Christ Crucified.
And albeit he sought carefully to hide and to
conceal those glorious and most holy Stigmata, so
clearly imprinted on his flesh : and sith on the other
hand he saw that he could ill conceal them from
his own familiar friends : yet feared to spread
abroad the secrets of God, he stood in much doubt
if best it were to reveal the seraphic vision, the
imprinting of the most holy Stigmata. At length
through the pricking of conscience, he called unto
him certain of his companions that were his more
familiar friends, and setting forth unto them his
doubt in general terms, without making mention
of the actual fact, he asked their counsel. Now
among these brothers there was one of great
sanctity, whose name was Brother Illuminato : he
being truly illumined of God, understanding that
S. Francis must needs have seen some marvellous
thing, answered him : '' Brother Francis, know that

1 88 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

not for thyself alone, but also for others' sake, hath
God at sundry times revealed to thee His holy
mysteries ; wherefore thou hast good reason for to
fear, that, if thou keep secret what God hath shown
thee for the benefit of others, thou mayest be held
worthy of blame." Then S. Francis moved by
these words, with exceeding great fear told unto
them all the manner and the form of the vision
set forth above ; adding that Christ, the which had
appeared to him, had given him certain things that
he would never tell, so long as he lived. And
albeit those most holy wounds, inasmuch as Christ
had imprinted them, gave to his heart exceeding
joy : nathless to his flesh and the senses of his body,
they gave pain unbearable. So that, constrained
by necessity, he chose out Brother Leo, as above
the rest the most simple and most pure, and to
him he revealed the whole, and suffered him to
see and touch those holy wounds, and sw^athe them
in bands to assuage the pain, and to receive the
blood that trickled from the said wounds ; the
which bands, in time of sickness, he suffered him
to change often, and even every day, save from
Thursday evening until Saturday morning ; be-
cause during that time he would not that the pain
of the passion of Christ, which he bore in his body,
should a whit be lessened by any human medicine
or remedy ; for at that time our Saviour Jesu Christ
had been for our sakes taken and was crucified,
dead and buried. It befell on a time that as
Brother Leo was changing the bandage of the
wound in the side, S. Francis, for the pain that he
felt when the blood-stained bandages were loosed.

e o me Canto franaci e Ko riacuctn: CcCHmatc mCulmonte ciclUuDiia

S. FRANCIS KKCKIVKS THK SIKiMATA

( A/ter Codcx l.aiircii.^inito (idchiidito cxiì : e/ l'ìi'/mc, />. ini)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 189

laid his hand upon the breast of Brother Leo ; and
at the touch of those holy hands, Brother Leo felt
such sweetness of devotion in his heart, that he
well-nigh fell upon the ground half-dead. And
at the last, touching this third reflection, S. Fran-
cis having ended the forty days' fast of S. Michael
the Archangel, set himself by divine revelation to
return to S. Mary of the Angels. Wherefore
he called unto him Brother Masseo and Brother
Angelo; and after many words and holy admonish-
ments, commended that holy mountain into their
charge with what earnestness he might, saying that
as for himself it behoved him with Brother Leo to
return to S. Mary of the Angels. And this said,
he took leave of them and blessed them in the
name of Jesu Crucified, and yielding to their
prayers, he stretched out to them his most holy
hands adorned with those glorious and sacred
Stigmata, to see, to touch, and kiss : and so leaving
them comforted, he departed from them and went
down from the holy mountain.

Of the fourth reflection on the most holy Stigmata

As to the fourth reflection, ye must know that
after the true love of Christ had perfectly trans-
formed S. Francis in God and in the true image
of Christ Crucified, having finished the fast of
forty days in honour of S. Michael the Archangel,
upon the holy mount of Alvernia ; after the feast
of S. Michael, that angel-like man, S. Francis,
came down from the mountain, with Brother Leo
and a devout peasant, on whose ass he sat, sith by

I90 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

reason of the nails in his feet he could ill go afoot.
When therefore S. Francis had come down from
the mountain, the fame of his sanctity was noised
already throughout the country, and the shepherds
had spread it abroad how they had seen the mount
of Alvernia all aflame, and how that this was the
sign of some great miracle that God had wrought
upon S. Francis ; so the people of the parts through
which he passed, all came out to meet him, both
men and women, small and great : and they all,
with great devotion and desire, sought to touch
him and to kiss his hands ; and he not being able
to escape the devotion of the people, albeit he had
bound up the palms of his hands, yet the better to
hide the most holy Stigmata, he bound them up
still more and covered them with his sleeves and
gave them only the fingers to kiss. But for all
his pains to hide and to conceal the mystery of
the most holy Stigmata, to avoid all occasion of
worldly glory, it pleased God for His own glory
to show forth many miracles, by virtue of the said
most holy Stigmata ; and above all in that journey
from Alvernia to S. Mary of the Angels ; as well
as very many thereafter in divers parts of the
world, in his life-time and after his glorious
death ; to the end that their hidden and marvel-
lous virtue, and the exceeding love and mercy of
Christ towards him in His marvellous gift of them,
might be shown forth to the world, through clear
and evident miracles ; whereof we will set forth
certain in this place. Now at that time as S.
Francis was drawing nigh to a village that was on
the borders of the county of Arezzo, there came

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 191

to meet him a woman, weeping bitterly, with her
son in her arms, the which was eight years old and
had had the dropsy four years ; and his body was
so terribly swollen that, when he stood upright he
could not see his feet ; and this woman laid her
son down before him, and besought him that he
would pray to God for him. Then S. Francis first
set himself to pray, and then, done the prayer, laid
his holy hands on the body of the child, and
straightway all the swelling was allayed, and he
was made every whit whole, and he gave him back
to his mother, who receiving him with exceeding
great joy and taking him home again, gave thanks
to God and to S. Francis, and willingly showed her
son that was healed to all of that country that came
to her house for to see him. The self-same day
S. Francis passed through Borgo San Sepolcro, and
before he drew nigh the place, crowds came to meet
him from that place and from the town, and many
went before him with branches of olive in their
hands, crying aloud: "Behold, the Saint ! behold,
the Saint !" and for the devotion and desire that the
people had to touch him, there was a great throng
and press about him : but he, going on with mind
through contemplation uplifted and rapt in God,
albeit the people touched and held and plucked
at him, like one insensible, knew naught at all of
what was done and said around him ; nor was he
ware that he was passing through that place or
through that country. Having passed through
the town, when the crowds had returned to their
homes, he came to a lazar-house, a full mile beyond
the town, and returning to himself again, as one

192 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

coming from another world, the celestial con-
templative asked his companion : " When shall we
be near the town ? " Of a truth his soul, fixed
and rapt in contemplation of heavenly things, had
taken no heed of any earthly thing, nor the
changes of place, nor of time, nor of folk that
met them by the way. And even so it befell
many other times even as his companions with
clear knowledge had proof thereof. That evening
S. Francis came to the house of the brothers of
Monte Casale, in which house was a brother so
cruelly sick and so horribly tormented by his sick-
ness, that his disease seemed rather some infliction
and torment of the devil than a natural sickness ;
for sometimes he would throw himself flat upon
the ground with a great trembling and with foam-
ing at the mouth ; then all the muscles of his body
would shrink ; now would they stretch, now bend,
now twist ; now his heels would be drawn up to
the nape of his neck, and he would leap high in
the air and at once fall flat upon his back. And
as S. Francis sat at table, hearing from the brothers
of this brother so miserably sick and so incurable,
he had compassion upon him ; and taking a bit of
bread, that he was eating, he made over it the sign
of the most holy Cross with his holy pierced hands,
and gave it to the sick brother : the which, when
he had eaten, was made perfectly whole and never
felt that sickness any more. When the next
morning came, S. Francis sent two of the brothers
of that House to live at Alvernia, and he sent
back with them the peasant that had walked behind
the ass that had been lent him, desiring that he

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 193

should return therewith to his own house. So the
brothers set out with the said peasant, and as they
came into the country of Arezzo, certain men of
those parts beheld them from far off, and were
exceeding glad deeming that it was S. Francis,
who had passed that way two days before : for a
woman among them that had been in travail three
days and could not bring to the birth, was like to
die : and they thought to see her safe and sound
again, if S. Francis laid his holy hands upon her.
But as the said brothers drew near, and they per-
ceived that it was not S. Francis, they were exceed-
ing sorrowful, but albeit the Saint was not there
in bodily presence, nathless his virtue was not lack-
ing, sith they lacked not in faith. O marvellous
thing ! the woman was at the point to die and
had already the marks of death upon her. They
asked the brothers if they had aught that had been
touched by the most holy hands of S. Francis.
The brothers bethought them and searched dili-
gently, but in the end found naught that S. Francis
had touched with his hands, save only the halter of
the ass whereon he had ridden. With great rever-
ence and devotion they took this halter and laid
it on the body of the woman that was with child,
calling devoutly on the name of S. Francis and
faithfully commending themselves unto him. And
what more ì So soon as the halter was laid upon
the woman, straightway was she delivered from all
peril, and easily and safely gave birth with joy. S.
Francis, after he had tarried for some days in the
said House, departed and went to the city of Cas-
tello. And behold, many of the townsfolk came to

N

194 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

meet him, and brought unto him a woman that had
been longtime possessed of a devil and besought him
humbly to set her free, for with doleful bowlings
and piercing shrieks and barking like a dog she
disturbed all the country round. Then S. Francis,
having first prayed and made over her the sign of
the most holy Cross, commanded the devil to de-
part from her : and straightway he departed and
left her whole in body and in mind. And this
miracle being noised abroad among the people, an-
other woman with great faith brought to him her
son grievously afflicted with a cruel wound, and
besought him devoutly that he would be pleased to
make the sign of the cross upon it with his hands.
Then S. Francis, hearing her prayer, took the child
and untied the bandage of the wound and blessed
him, making three times the sign of the most holy
Cross upon the wound, and then with his own
hands bound it up again, and gave him back to his
mother : and because it was evening, she straight-
way laid him down upon the bed to sleep. In
the morning she came to take him out of bed
and found the bandages unbound : and looked and
found him so perfectly healed as though he had
had no hurt at all ; save at the place where the
wound had been, the flesh had grown over, like to
a red rose : and that rather in token of the miracle,
than as a sign of the wound : for the said rose re-
maining all through his life, often stirred up in
him devotion to S. Francis who had healed him.
At the prayers of the devout townsfolk, S. Fran-
cis abode in that city a month, in the which time
he wrought many other miracles ; and then he

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 195

departed to go unto S. Mary of the Angels with
Brother Leo and with a certain good man that
lent him his ass, on the which S. Francis rode.
Now it befell that by reason of the bad roads and
of the severe cold, though they journeyed all day,
they could not reach a house wherein to lodge :
wherefore, constrained by the darkness and the
storm, they took shelter under the brow of a
hollow rock, for to escape the snow and the night
that was coming on. And being in this evil
plight and eke ill-covered, the good man whose
ass it was, could not sleep by reason of the cold,
and seeing that they had no means to make a
fire, began softly to complain within himself and
to lament, and as it were to murmur against S.
Francis that had brought him to such a place.
Then S. Francis being ware of it, had compassion
upon him ; and in fervour of spirit stretched out
his hand towards him, and touched him. O
wondrous thing ! so soon as he had touched him
with that hand which had been kindled and pierced
by the fire of the Seraph, all the cold left him ;
and such heat entered into him both within and
from without that he seemed to be near to the
mouth of a blazing furnace, so that straightway
comforted in soul and body, he fell asleep : and, by
his own report, he slept that night more sweetly
among the rocks and snow until dawn, than ever
he slept in his own bed. On the next day
they went on their journey, and came to S. Mary
of the Angels : and as they drew near, Brother Leo
lifted up his eyes, and looked towards the said
House of S. Mary of the Angels, and saw a Cross

196 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

exceeding beautiful, whereon was the figure of the
Crucified, going before S. Francis, and with such
accord did the said Cross go before the face of
S. Francis, that when he rested, it rested also, and
when he went on, it went on too : and that Cross
was of such splendour that not only was its light
reflected in the face of S. Francis, but likewise all
the road was lit up round about him ; and it lasted
until S. Francis entered into the House of S. Mary
of the Angels. S. Francis then being come with
Brother Leo, they were received by the brothers
with exceeding great joy and love, and from thence-
forth until his death S. Francis spent the most of
his time in that House of S. Mary of the Angels.
And the fame of his sanctity and of his miracles
spread continually more and more throughout the
Order and throughout the world, albeit in his deep
humility he hid, as best he could, the graces and
the gifts of God, and called himself the greatest
of sinners. Whereat Brother Leo marvelling
on a time and thinking foolishly within himself :
" Behold, he calls himself the greatest of sinners
in the ears of all men ; and he has become great
in the Order ; and is so much honoured of God ;
and nevertheless in secret he never confesses him-
self guilty of carnal sin : can it be that he is still
a virgin ? '' and thereupon a great desire began to
take hold on him, to know the truth thereof, but he
dared not to ask S. Francis. Wherefore he turned
himself to God ; and besought Him earnestly to
certify him in that which he desired to know; and
for his much praying and through the merits of
S. Francis he was heard, and was certified that S.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 197

Francis was in very sooth a virgin in body, through
the vision that followeth. For he saw in a dream
S. Francis standing on a high place and honourable,
unto which none could reach or set himself by his
side ; and it was told him in spirit that this place
so high and so pre-eminent signified the pre-
eminence of virginal chastity in S. Francis, which
rightly accorded with the flesh that was to be
adorned with the most holy Stigmata of Christ.
S. Francis, seeing that by reason of the Stigmata
of Christ the strength of his body was little by
little failing him, and that he could no longer
take care for the government of the Order, sum-
moned the General Chapter in haste : the which
being all assembled, he humbly excused himself
before the brothers for the bodily frailty, whereby
he could no more take on him the care of the
Order, as touching the work of the general ; how-
beit he would not lay down the office of general,
for that he could not do, sith he had been made
General by the Pope, and therefore he could not
leave the office or put a successor in his place
without the express permission of the Pope ; but
he appointed as his Vicar Brother Peter Cattani,
commending the Order unto him and the Ministers
of the provinces with all the affection that he could.
And this done, S. Francis comforted in spirit, lift-
ing his eyes and hands to heaven, spake thus : "To
Thee, O Lord my God, to Thee do I commend
Thy family, the which Thou hast committed unto
me until this hour, and now through mine infir-
mities, that Thou wottest of, most sweet my Lord,
1 can no longer take care for it. Likewise do I

198 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

commend it unto the Ministers of the provinces ;
let them be bound to render an account on the
Day of Judgment, if any brother, through their
negligence, or their bad example, or their too harsh
severity, should perish." And by these words, as
it pleased God, all the brothers in the Chapter
understood that he spake of the holy Stigmata, in
that he excused himself by reason of his infirmity;
and of their devotion none of them could refrain
themselves from weeping. And from thenceforth
he left all the care and government of the Order
in the hands of his Vicar and of the Ministers of
the provinces ; and said : *' Now that I have given
up the care of the Order by reason of my infirmi-
ties, I am henceforth in naught bound save to pray
God for our Order and to give a good example
to the brothers. And I know well of very sooth,
that were mine infirmity to depart from me, the
greatest help that I could give the Order, would
be to pray to God continually for it, that he would
defend and guide and keep it.'' Now, as has been
set forth above, albeit S. Francis strove as best he
might to hide the most holy Stigmata, and ever
since he had received them, always went with hands
bound up and feet shod, yet he could not prevent
many brothers from seeing and touching them in
divers manners, and chief of all the wound in the
side, the which he strove with greater diligence to
hide. Thus a brother that did him service, on a
time induced him with pious craft to take off his
tunic, for to shake out the dust therefrom : and
as he took it off before him, the brother clearly
saw the wound in the side ; and quickly putting

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 199

his hand on his breast, touched it with his three
fingers, and learned the measure and the size of
it : and in hke manner his Vicar saw it also. But
Brother Ruffino was still more clearly certified
thereof: he was a man of very great contempla-
tion, of whom S. Francis once said that there was
no man in the world more holy than he, and for
his sanctity he loved him with all his heart and
suffered him in whatsoever things he desired. This
Brother Ruffino certified himself and others of the
most holy Stigmata, and above all of that in his
side, in three ways. The first was, that having
to wash the hose, which S. Francis wore so large,
that drawing them up he covered the wound in
his right side therewith, the said Brother Ruffino
examined and considered them diligently, and each
time he found them stained with blood on the right
side ; whereby he perceived of a surety that this
was blood that came from out the wound afore-
said : but for this S. Francis reproved him, when
he saw that he spread out the hose that he took
off, for to see this token. The second way was,
that on a time the said Brother Ruffino of set
purpose thrust his fingers into the wound in the
side ; so that S. Francis for the pain that he felt,
cried out aloud : *' God pardon thee, O Brother
Ruffino, wherefore hast thou done this thing ? "
The third way was, that on a time he besought
S. Francis instantly as a most gracious favour, to
give him his cloak and take his instead for the
love of charity ; yielding to his prayer, albeit un-
willingly, the loving Father drew off his cloak and
gave it him and took his instead ; and then in this

200 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

drawing oifF and putting on again, Brother Ruffino
plainly saw the wound aforesaid. Brother Leo
likewise and many other brothers saw the said
most holy Stigmata of S. Francis while he was
yet alive : the which brothers, though for their
sanctity they were men worthy of trust and to be
believed on their bare word, nevertheless, for to
take away all doubt from the hearts of men, they
swore on the holy Book that they had clearly seen
them. Likewise certain cardinals that were his
own familiar friends, saw them, and in reverence
for the said most holy Stigmata of S. Francis they
wrote and made beautiful and devout Hymns and
Antiphons and Proses.^ The Supreme Pontiff,
Pope Alexander, while preaching to the people in
the presence of all the cardinals, among the which
was the holy brother Bonaventura, that was a car-
dinal, said and affirmed that he had seen with his
own eyes the sacred Stigmata of S. Francis, while
he was yet alive. And the Lady Jacoba di Sen-
tensoli of Rome, who was the greatest lady of
her time in Rome, and had a great devotion unto
S. Francis, both before he died and after his death,
both saw and kissed them many times with much
reverence, because by divine revelation she came
from Rome to Assisi for to be present at the death
of S. Francis, and it befell in this wise. S. Francis,
some days before his death, lay sick at Assisi in
the palace of the Bishop along with certain of his
companions, and in spite of all his sickness he often-
times sang certain songs of praise to Christ. On a

^ /".<?., a Latin hymn having rhyme and an equal number of
syllables in each line, but no metre.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 261

day one of his companions said unto him : " Father,
thou knowest that these townsfolk have great faith
in thee and deem thee a holy man ; and to the
end that they may think that thou art truly what
they deem thee, thou oughtest in this thy sickness
to bethink thee of death, and to rather weep than
sing, seeing that thou art so grievously sick : and
know that thy singing and ours, that thou dost
make us sing, is heard of many persons both within
the palace and without ; sith for thy sake this palace
is guarded by many men-at-arms, the which per-
chance may find therein a bad example. Where-
fore methinks," quoth this brother, " that thou
wouldest do well to depart hence, and that we should
all return to S. Mary of the Angels, for it is not
well with us here among the men of the world.''
S. Francis answered him : '* Brother most dear, thou
knowest that it is now two years since God revealed
to thee the limit of my life, what time we sojourned
in Fuligno, and likewise hath He revealed also
unto me that a few days hence, in the course of
this sickness, that limit will be reached : and in
that revelation hath God assured me of the remis-
sion of all my sins and of the bliss of Paradise.
Before that revelation, I wept for death and for
my sins : but now that this revelation is made
known to me, I am so full of joy, that I can weep
no more; therefore I sing and still shall sing to
God, that hath given to me the blessing of His
grace, and hath assured me of the blessings of the
glory of Paradise. Touching our departure hence,
I agree thereto and am well pleased, but do ye
find some means to carry me, sith for mine

202 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

infirmity I cannot go afoot.'' Then the brothers
took him up in their arms and carried him, and
many of the townsfolk bare them company. And
coming to a hospice that was by the way, S. Francis
said unto them that bore him : "Set me down upon
the ground and turn me towards the city." And
when that he was laid with his face turned towards
Assisi, he blessed the city with many blessings, say-
ing : " Blessed be thou of God, O holy city, seeing
that through thee shall many souls be saved, and
in thee shall dwell many servants of the Lord :
and out of thee shall many be chosen for the
kingdom of eternal life." And said these words,
he let carry him on, to S. Mary of the Angels.
And when that they were come to S. Mary of the
Angels, they carried him into the infirmary, and
laid him down there to rest. Then S. Francis
called unto him one of his companions, and said
unto him: '^Brother most dear, God hath revealed
to me that from this sickness, on such a day, I
shall pass away from this life : now thou wottest
that the beloved Lady Jacoba di Sentensoli, who
is so devoted to our Order, would be sore grieving,
if she heard of my death and had not herself been
present : whereby send her word that if she would
see me alive again, let her come here straightway."
Replied the brother: " Father, thou hast well said ;
for of very sooth for the great devotion that she
bears thee, it would not at all be fitting that she
should be absent at thy death." "Go then," quoth
S. Francis, "and bring me inkhorn and paper and
pen, and write as I shall tell thee." And when
that he had brought them, S. Francis dictated the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 203

letter after this manner : " To the Lady Jacoba,
the servant of God, Brother Francis the poor little
one of Christ, greeting, and the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit in our Lord Jesu Christ. Know, dear
lady, that Christ, the blessed One, hath of His
grace revealed unto me that the end of my life is
shortly at hand. Wherefore, if thou desire to see
me still alive, when thou hast seen this letter, do
thou arise and come unto S. Mary of the Angels :
for if thou art not come by such a day, thou wilt
not find me still alive : and bring with thee a shroud
of haircloth, to wrap my body in, and the wax that
is needed for the burial. I pray thee likewise that
thou bring me some of the food that thou wast
wont to give me, when I lay sick in Rome." And
whiles this letter was in writing, it was of God re-
vealed unto S. Francis that the Lady Jacoba was
coming unto him and was even now come nigh the
House, and was bringing with her all the things
that he was asking for by letter. Therefore, having
this revelation, S. Francis said unto the brother that
was writing the letter, that he should write no more,
seeing that there was no need, but should lay the
letter aside : at the which thing the brothers mar-
velled much, in that he finished not the letter and
desired that it should not be sent. And after a
little space, there was a loud knocking at the door
of the House, and S. Francis sent the porter to
open it: and the door being opened, behold! there
was the Lady Jacoba, the most noble lady in all
Rome, with her two sons that were senators of
Rome, and a great company of horsemen, and they
entered in ; and the Lady Jacoba went straight to

204 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

the infirmary and came unto S. Francis. And of
her coming S. Francis had exceeding great joy and
comfort, and she likewise, beholding him still alive
and having speech of him. Then she told him
how God had revealed unto her in Rome, as she
was at prayer, the near end of his life, and how he
would send for her and ask for those things, all
of which she said she had brought with her ; and
she let bring them to S. Francis, and gave them
him to eat. And when he had eaten and was much
comforted, the Lady Jacoba kneeled down at the
feet of S. Francis, and took those most holv feet
marked and adorned with the wounds of Christ,
and kissed them and bathed them with her tears
in such a rapture of devotion, that to the brothers
that stood around it seemed they saw the very
Magdalene herself at the feet of Jesu Christ, and
by no means could they draw her away. And at
length after a long space they lifted her up thence
and drew her aside ; and they asked her how she
had come at a time so fitting and so well provided
with all the things that were needed for the sus-
tenance and for the burial of S. Francis. Replied
the Lady Jacoba that, as she was praying in Rome
one night, she heard a voice from heaven saying :
*' If thou desire to see S. Francis still alive, delay
not to go unto Assisi, and take with thee the things
thou wast wont to give him when he was sick, and
the things that will be needed for his burial; and"
(quoth she) " even so have I done.** So the said
Ladyjacobaabode thereuntil such time as S. Francis
passed away from this life and was buried; and she
paid great honour unto his burying, she and all her

V

/.'. /ù'ìiiison, I SI/.

IHK DEATH OF S. FRANCIS

(Chainni/oii Collection, Paris)

V

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 205

company, and she bore the charges of whatsoever
was needed. Then returning to Rome, after a short
time this gentle lady died a holy death ; and of her
devotion to S. Francis, she decided and desired to
be carried to S. Mary of the Angels and be buried
there : and so was it done.

How Jerome touched and saw the most holy Stigmata
of S. Francis, wherein at first he disbelieved

After the death of S. Francis not only did the
aforesaid Lady Jacoba and her sons together with
all her company see and kiss his glorious sacred
Stigmata, but likewise many citizens of Assisi ;
among the which was a knight of great renown
and a man of worth, named Jerome, the which
doubted much thereof and was unbelieving, even
as S. Thomas the Apostle doubted the wounds
of Christ ; and to certify himself and the others
he boldly in the presence of the brothers and the
lay-folk moved the nails in the hands and feet,
and felt the wound in the side, for a clear testi-
mony. For the which cause he bore witness of
that truth constantly, swearing on the Book that
so it was, and so had he seen and touched. Like-
wise S. Clare with her nuns, the which were
present at his burial, saw and kissed the glorious
sacred Stigmata of S. Francis.

Of the day and of the year of the death of S. Francis

The glorious confessor of Christ, S. Francis,
passed away from this life in the year of our Lord

2o6 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

one thousand two hundred and twenty-six, on the
fourth day of October, being Saturday, and was
buried on the Sunday. This year was the twentieth
year of his conversion, to wit, when he began to
do penance, and was the second year after the im-
printing of the most holy Stigmata, and he was in
the forty-fifth year of his age.

Of the canonisation of S, Francis

Thereafter was S. Francis canonised, in the
year one thousand two hundred and twenty-eight,
by Pope Gregory IX. ; the which came in his
proper person to Assisi for to canonise him. And
this sufficeth for the fourth reflection.

Of the fifth and last reflection on the most holy
Stigmata

The fifth and last reflection is touching certain
apparitions and miracles that God wrought and
showed forth after the death of S. Francis, for
the confirmation of his most holy Stigmata, and
for a testimony of the day and the hour whereon
Christ gave them him. And as touching this, ye
must needs know that in the year of our Lord
one thousand two hundred and eighty-two, in the
month of October, Brother Philip, minister of
Tuscany, by order of Brother John Buonagrazia,
the minister general, required of Brother Matthew
of Castiglione in Arezzo, a man of great devotion
and sanctity, that by holy obedience he should
say what he knew of the day and of the hour,

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 207

wherein the most holy Stigmata were by Christ
imprinted on the body of S. Francis ; for it was
known that he had received a revelation thereon.
The which Brother Matthew, being constrained
by holy obedience, answered him thus : " Being in
the community of Alvernia last year in the month
of May, I began one day to pray in the cell
that is in the place where it is believed that the
seraphic vision took place. And in my prayer I be-
sought God very devoutly to be pleased to reveal
unto some one the day and the hour and the place
wherein the most holy Stigmata were imprinted
on the body of S. Francis. And as I continued
in prayer and in this petition beyond the first
watch of the night, there appeared unto me
S. Francis in an exceeding bright light, and said
unto me : * Son, for what dost thou pray to God ? '
And I said unto him : ' Father, I pray for such
and such a thing.' And he said unto me : ' I am
thy father Francis : dost thou know me well ? '
' Yea, Father,' quoth I. Then he showed to me
the most holy Stigmata in his hands and his feet
and his side, and said : ' The time is come when
God wills for His glory to manifest that which the
brothers have hitherto not cared to learn. Know
that He that appeared unto me was not an angel,
but was Jesu Christ in the form of a Seraph : who
with His own hands imprinted these wounds upon
my body, even as He received them in His body
on the cross ; and it was on this wise : on the
day before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross there
came to me an Angel, and bade me in the name
of God make myself ready to be patient and to re-

2o8 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

ceive whatsoever God might will to send me. And
I replied that I was ready to receive and to endure
all things according to God's good pleasure. Then
on the morning following, on the festival of the
Holy Cross, which that year fell on a Friday, at
day-break I left my cell in exceeding great fervour
of spirit and went to pray in the place where thou
art now, in which place I used oftentimes to pray.
And as I prayed, behold through the air there
came down from heaven a young man crucified,
in the form of a Seraph with six wings, and with
great swiftness : at this wondrous sight I kneeled
humbly down and began devoutly to contemplate
the immeasurable love of Jesu Christ Crucified,
and the immeasurable pain of His passion ; and
the sight of Him begat in me so great compassion
that I seemed in mine own person to feel that
very Passion in my body ; and at His presence
all this mountain shone like the sun ; and thus
descending He came close to me. And standing
before me, He spake to me certain secret words,
the which I have not yet revealed to any man ;
but the time is at hand when they shall be revealed.
Then after a little space, Christ departed and
returned into heaven ; and I found myself thus
marked with these wounds. Go then,' quoth
S. Francis, ' and tell these things with confidence
unto thy minister ; for this is the working of
God and not of man.' And said these words, S.
Francis gave me his blessing, and went up again
into heaven with a great company of youths in
shining garments." All these things Brother
Matthew said he had seen and heard not sleep-

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 209

ing but awake. And so he swore that he had
himself told unto the said minister in his cell at
Florence, when he questioned him thereon by
holy obedience.

How a holy brother reading the legend of S. Francis in
the chapter on the most holy Stigmata and on the
secret words^ which the Seraph spake unto S,
Francis when he appeared unto him^ prayed to
God so much that S. Francis revealed them unto
him

Upon another time a devout brother and holy,
reading the legend of S. Francis in the chapter
on the most holy Stigmata, began with great per-
plexity of spirit to ponder what those words so
secret could have been which S. Francis said he
would reveal to no man, so long as he lived, the
which the Seraph had spoken when he appeared
to him. And this brother said within himself :
'' Those words S. Francis would not tell to any
man while he lived : but now after the death of
his body he may perchance tell them, if devout
prayer be made to him." And from thenceforth,
the devout brother began to pray to God and to
S. Francis that it might please them to reveal those
words ; and this brother persevering for eight
years in this prayer, in the eighth year he merited
to be heard after this wise. One day after the
breaking of bread, when they had given thanks in
the church, as he was at prayer in a certain part
of the church, and was praying to God and to
S. Francis more devoutly than he was wont, and

o

2 IO THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

with many tears, he was called by another of
the brothers, and was bidden in the name of the
guardian to go with him to the fields for the
profit of the House. Wherefore he, nothing
doubting that obedience is more meritorious than
prayer, straightway when he heard the command
of the superior, humbly left his prayers and went
with the brother thatcalled him. And as it pleased
God, by this act of ready obedience he merited
that which by long hours of prayer he had not
merited. For so soon as they were come without
the door of the House, they met two brothers,
strangers, the which seemed as though they had
come from a far country, and one of them seemed
to be young, and the other old and lean, and by
reason of foul weather they were all wet and stained
with mud. So that obedient brother, having great
compassion on them, said to the companion that
was with him : '* O my brother most dear, if the
business that we are going upon, may be delayed a
little, seeing that these stranger brothers have great
need to be charitably received, I pray thee that
thou suffer me first to go and wash their feet, and
especially the feet of that aged brother who hath
greater need thereof, and you will be able to wash
those of the younger one ; and then we will go
about the business of the convent." Then this
brother consenting unto the charity of his com-
panion, they went back into the convent ; and re-
ceiving those stranger brothers with much charity,
they took them into the kitchen that they might
warm and dry themselves by the fire ; and eight
other brothers of the House were warminor them-

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 211

selves by the said fire. And when they had sat a
while by the fire, they took them aside for to wash
their feet, according as they had agreed together.
And as that obedient and devout brother was wash-
ing the feet of the older brother, and was wiping
off the mud, for they were very muddy, he looked
and saw that his feet were marked with the most
holy Stigmata ; and straightway in joy and wonder
embracing them in a close embrace, he began to
cry out : " Either thou art Christ, or thou art S.
Francis." At the sound of his voice and at these
words, the brothers that were by the fire arose, and
came near with great fear and reverence to behold
those glorious Stigmata. Then at their prayers
that aged brother suffered them clearly to see and
touch and kiss them. And as they marvelled more
and more for joy, he said unto them : ''Fear not
and be not doubting, brothers most dear and sons ;
I am your father. Brother Francis, who by the will
of God, founded three Orders. And sith I have
been entreated, these eight years, by this brother
that is washing my feet, and to-day more fervently
than any other time, that I should reveal to him
the secret words that the Seraph spake to me when
he gave me the Stigmata, the which words I would
never reveal in my life-time, this day by the com-
mand of God, because of his perseverance and his
ready obedience, wherewith he left the sweetness
of contemplation, I am sent by God to reveal before
you all that which he asked." Then S. Francis
turning towards that brother, said : "Know, brother
most dear, that being on the mount of Alvernia, all
rapt in the remembrance of the Passion of Christ

212 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

in that seraphic apparition, I was of Christ thus
marked on my body with the Stigmata, and then
Christ spake unto me : ' Knowest thou that which
I have done unto thee ? I have given thee the signs
of My Passion, to the end that thou mayest be My
standard-bearer. And even as I on the day of My
death descended into hell and brought out thence
all the souls that I found therein and led them to
Paradise, by virtue of My Stigmata ; so do I grant
to thee this hour, that thou shalt thus be conformed
to Me in death, as thou hast been in life, that after
thou hast passed away from this life, every year on
the day of thy death thou shalt go to Purgatory,
and in virtue of thy Stigmata that I have given
thee, thou shalt bring out thence all the souls of
thy three Orders, to wit. Minors, Sisters, and Con-
tinents, and likewise those thou mayest find there,
that have had a devotion unto thee, and shalt lead
them unto Paradise.' And these words I told to
none, whiles I lived in the world.*' And said these
words, S. Francis and his companion vanished away
incontinent. Afterwards many brothers heard of
this from those eight brothers that were present
at this vision and speech of S. Francis.

How S. Francis, being dead, appeared unto Brother
John of Ah ernia, as he was at prayer

On the mount of Alvernia S. Francis on a time
appeared unto Brother John of Alvernia, a man
of great sanctity, as he was at prayer, and stood
and spake with him for a very long space, and in
the end desiring to depart, spake thus: ''Ask o{

S. ?'KANCIS
CAflcf the tempera panel by Filippino Lippi, mnc in the National Gallery, London)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 213

me whatsoe'er thou wilt." Quoth Brother John :
" Father, I pray thee tell me what I have long
time desired to know, to wit, what thou wast
doing and where thou wast when the Seraph ap-
peared to thee/' Replied S. Francis : " I was
praying in the place where now is the Chapel of
the Count Simon da Battifolle, and I was asking
two graces of my Lord Jesu Christ. The first
was that He should grant me in my life-time to
feel in my soul and my body, as far as might be,
all the pain that He had felt in Himself at the
time of His most bitter Passion. The second
grace that I asked of Him was in like manner that
I might feel in my heart that exceeding love,
wherewith He was enkindled to endure so great
sujfFering for us sinners. Then God put it into
my heart that He would grant me to feel both the
one and the other, as far as was possible to the
mere creature : the which thing was indeed ful-
filled in me by the imprinting of the Stigmata."
Then Brother John asked him if the secret words
that the Seraph had spoken to him had been even
as told by the holy brother aforesaid : the which
affirmed that he had heard them from S. Francis
in the presence of eight brothers. S. Francis
replied that the truth was even as that brother
had said. Then Brother John, seeing that he so
freely gave, took heart to ask, and said thus :
'*0 Father, most earnestly I do beseech thee to
suffer me to see and kiss thy most holy and
glorious Stigmata, not that I doubt at all, but
only for my consolation ; sith always have I longed
for this." And S. Francis freely showing them

214 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

and presenting them unto him, Brother John saw
them clearly and touched and kissed. And at the
last he asked : " Father, what consolation must
thy soul have felt, when thou sawest Christ the
blessed One come to thee and give thee the marks
of His most holy Passion ! now would to God that
I might feel a little of that sweetness ! " Then
replied S. Francis : " Seest thou these nails ? "
Quoth Brother John: ''Yea, Father/' "Touch
once again," said S. Francis, '' this nail that is in
my hand." Then Brother John with great rever-
ence and fear touched the nail, and straightway at
the touch thereof there came forth as it were a
little column of smoke, as of incense, and entering
into the nostrils of Brother John, filled his soul
and body with such sweetness that straightway he
was rapt in God in ecstasy and became insensible ;
and thus rapt he continued from that hour, which
was the hour of Tierce, even until Vespers. And
this vision and familiar speech with S. Francis
Brother John told unto no one save unto his con-
fessor, until he came to die ; but being at the point
of death, he revealed it to several brothers.

Of a holy brother that saw a wondrous vision of one
of his companions that was dead

In the province of Rome, a very devout brother
and holy beheld this wondrous vision. One of
the brothers, his companion that was most dear to
him, having died on a night and in the morning
been buried before the entrance to the Chapter-
house, on that same day this brother withdrew

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 215

himself into a corner of the Chapter-house after
the breaking of bread, for to pray devoutly to God
and to S. Francis for the soul of the dead brother,
his companion. And as he continued in prayer
with supplications and with tears until noon, what
time all the others had gone away to sleep, behold
he was ware of a great noise in the cloister.
Whereat straightway with great fear he turned
his eyes towards the grave of his companion ; and
he saw standing in the entrance to the Chapter-
house S. Francis, and behind him a great company
of brothers round about the grave. And as he
still looked, he saw in the middle of the cloister
a great flaming fire, and standing in the midst of
the flames the soul of his dead companion. And
looking round about the cloister, he saw Jesu
Christ walking round the cloister with a great
company of angels and of saints. And as with
great amazement he gazed upon these things, he
saw that when Christ passed in front of the
Chapter-house, S. Francis with all those brothers
kneeled down and bespake Him thus : " I pray
Thee, my dearest Father and Lord, by the in-
estimable love which in Thine incarnation Thou
hast shown to the children of men, that Thou
have mercy on the soul of this my brother, who
burneth in this fire ;" and Christ answered him
not a word, but passed on. And as He came back
a second time and passed in front of the Chapter-
house, S. Francis kneeled him down again with his
brothers as before, and besought Him in this wise :
" I pray Thee, pitying Father and Lord, for the
boundless love that Thou didst show to the chil-

2i6 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

dren of men, when Thou didst die on the wood
of the Cross, that Thou have pity of the soul of
this my brother : " and Christ passed him by as
before and heard him not. And going round the
cloister, He returned the third time, and passed in
front of the Chapter-house ; and then S. Francis
kneeling down as at first, showing Him his hands
and feet and side, spake thus : " I pray Thee,
pitying Father and Lord, by the great pains and
the great consolation that I felt when Thou didst
imprint these Stigmata upon my flesh, that Thou
have mercy on the soul of this my brother, that
is in the fire of Purgatory.'' O wondrous thing !
when S. Francis prayed to Christ this third time
in the name of his Stigmata, straightway He stayed
His steps and gazed upon the Stigmata ; and He
heard his prayer, and spake thus : " Unto thee,
Francis, do I grant the soul of thy brother." And
hereby, of a surety, He desired to honour and
confirm the glorious Stigmata of S. Francis, and
openly to show that the souls of his brothers that
go to Purgatory, can in no way more easily be
freed from their pains and brought to the glory
of Paradise, than by virtue of his Stigmata, accord-
ing to the words that Christ spake unto S. Francis,
when He imprinted them. For as soon as these
words were spoken, the fire in the cloister vanished
away, and the dead brother came to S. Francis, and
together with him and with Christ, all that com-
pany of the blessed with their glorious King went
up into heaven. For the which cause this brother,
his companion, that had prayed for him, beholdincr
him freed from his pains and taken to Paradise,

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 217

had exceeding great joy ; and thereafter he told
all the vision in order unto the other brothers, and
together with them offered praise and thanksgiving
unto God.

How a noble knight^ devoted to S, Francis^ was certified
of the death and the holy Stigmata of S. Francis

A noble knight of Massa di San Pietro, by name
Landolfo, the which had a very great devotion to
S. Francis, and at the last received at his hands
the habit of the Third Order, was certified of the
death of S. Francis, and of his most holy and
glorious Stigmata, after this manner : what time
S. Francis was nigh unto death, the devil entered
into a woman of that place and cruelly tormented
her, and therewithal made her to speak with such
learned subtlety that she vanquished all the wise
and learned men that came to dispute with her.
Now it befell that the devil departing from her
left her free for two days : and on the third day
returning to her again, afflicted her yet more
cruelly than before. Hearing of this matter,
Landolfo went unto the woman and asked of the
devil that dwelt in her, what was the reason that
he had left her for two days and thereafter return-
ing tormented her still more grievously than at the
first. Replied the demon : " When I left her, it
was because I and all my companions, that be in
these parts, were gathered together and went in
great force to the death of Francis, the beggar, for
to dispute with him and take his soul : but sith it
was surrounded and defended by a host of Angels

21 8 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

in number more than we, and was carried by them
straight up into heaven, and we gat us away in con-
fusion, I have therefore returned to this wretched
woman and am making up for what I left undone
those two days." Then Landolfo conjured him
in the name of God to tell him what was the truth
touching the sanctity of S. Francis, whom he re-
ported to be dead, and of S. Clare, that was alive.
Replied the devil : " Whether I had rather or not,
yet will I tell thee all the truth. God the Father
was so wroth against the sins of the world, that it
seemed that in a little while He would give the
sentence of death upon men and women, and would
sweep them off the face of the earth, if they
amended not their ways. But Christ, His Son,
praying for sinners, promised to renew His life and
His passion in a man, to wit, in Francis, the poor
little one, the beggar ; by whose life and doctrine
He would bring back many throughout all the
world into the way of truth, and many also unto
penitence. And now for to show to the world
what He had wrought in S. Francis, He hath
willed that the Stigmata of His passion, the which
He had imprinted on his body while he lived,
should now be seen of many and touched after
his death. In like manner, the Mother of Christ
promised to renew her virginal purity and her
humility in a woman, to wit. Sister Clare, in such
fashion that by her ensample she would deliver
many thousands of women out of our hands. And
the anger of God the Father being turned away
by these promises, He delayed the sentence of
death " Then Landolfo, desirincr to know o{ a

h. KRAiNCIS AlM'KAkS IN A JjREAM TO POPK (iKKCiORV IX
{Upper Chicrch oj S. /■'raiiccsco, Assisi)

V

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 219

surety whether the devil, who is the armoury and
father of lies, was in these matters speaking the
truth, and chiefly touching the death of S. Francis,
sent one of his faithful squires to Assisi, unto S.
Mary of the Angels, for to learn if S. Francis were
alive or dead : the which squire winning there,
found of a sooth that it was so, and coming back
again told to his lord that on the very day and
hour that the devil had said, S. Francis had passed
away from this life.

How Pope Gregory /X, doubting of the Stigmata of
S. Francis, was certified thereof

Leaving now all the miracles of the most holy
Stigmata of S. Francis, the which are to be read in
his Legend, for the ending of this fifth reflection
ye must know that Pope Gregory IX. doubting a
little touching the wound in the side of S. Francis,
as he afterwards related, one night S. Francis
appeared unto him, and lifting up his right arm a
little, uncovered the wound in his side, and asked
him for a phial, and he let bring it ; and S. Francis
let put it under the wound in the side ; and of
very sooth it seemed to the Pope that it was filled
up to the brim with blood mingled with water
that issued from the wound ; and from thenceforth
all doubt departed from him. And afterwards,
with the counsel of all the cardinals, he approved
the most holy Stigmata of S. Francis, and on their
account gave to the brothers a special privilege by
a Bull, and this he did at Viterbo in the eleventh
year of his pontificate ; and afterwards in the

220 S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

twelfth year he gave another more extensive still.
Then Pope Nicholas III. and Pope Alexander
granted high privileges, by the which whoso denied
the sacred Stigmata of S. Francis might be dealt
with as a heretic. And this is enough as touching
the fifth reflection on the glorious and most holy
Stigmata of our Father, S. Francis, whose life may
God give us grace so to follow in this world, that
by the virtue of his glorious Stigmata we may
merit to be saved with him in Paradise. To the
praise of Jesu Christ and of His poor little one,
S. Francis. Amen.

HERE BEGINNETH THE LIFE OF
BROTHER JUNIPER

/. How Brother Juniper cut off the foot of a pigy merely to
give it to a sick man

One of the most elect disciples and first com-
panions of S. Francis was Brother Juniper, a man
of deep humility, of great fervour and charity ; of
whom S. Francis, speaking on a time with his holy
companions, said : " He would be a good Brother
Minor who had conquered himself and the world
like Brother Juniper." On a time at S. Mary of
the Angels, when all afire with the love of God
he was visiting a sick brother, he asked him with
much compassion : " Can I do thee any service ? "
Replied the sick man : *' Much comfort would it
give me, if thou couldest get me a pig's trotter to
eat." Straightway cried Brother Juniper : " Leave
that to me, I'll fetch you one at once ; " so he
went and took a knife, from the kitchen I believe,
and in fervour of spirit ran through the wood
where divers pigs were feeding, threw himself on
one of them, cut off its foot and ran away, leaving
the pig with feet so maimed ; and returning, he
washed and dressed and cooked the foot ; and
when with much diligence he had prepared it well,
he brought the said foot to the sick man with

222 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

much great charity. And the sick man ate it up
right greedily, to the great comfort and dehght of
Brother Juniper ; who with great glee, for to glad
the heart of the sick man, told him of the assaults
he had made upon the pig. Meanwhile the man
who kept the pigs and saw this brother cut off its
foot, with bitter words told all the story in order
to his lord. And when he was ware of it, he
came to the house of the brothers, calling them
hypocrites, thieves and liars, and rogues and
knaves, and saying : *' Why have ye cut off the
foot of my pig ? " At the noise that he made,
S. Francis and all his brothers came out, and with
all humility made excuses for his brethren, and
v/otting naught of what was done, for to appease
him promised to restore him all that he had lost.
But for all that, he was no whit appeased, but
with much wrath, insults, and threats, went away
from the brothers full of anger, repeating over
and over how basely they had cut off the foot of
his pig, and taking no excuse or promise, gat him
gone ina rage. And S. Francis full of discretion,
whileas all the other brothers were in much amaze-
ment, bethought him, and said within his heart :
'' Can Brother Juniper have done this thing in
zeal too indiscreet ì " And he let call Brother
Juniper unto him secretly, and asked him, saying :
" Didst thou cut off the foot of a pig in the wood ? **
Whereat Brother Juniper, not as one that had
made a fault, but as one that seemed to himself
to have done a deed of great charity, all gladly
answered, and said : *' Sweet my Father, it is true
that I cut off a foot from the said pig ; and as

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 223

touching the reason, my Father, if thou wilt, do
thou give ear to it compassionately. Out of charity
I went to visit such and such a sick brother ; "
and he told him all that befell in order, and
then added : " I tell thee, that bearing in mind
the consolation that this our brother felt, and the
comfort that the said foot brought to him, if I
had cut off the feet of a hundred pigs as I did
of one, in very sooth, methinks God would have
said, Well done." Whereat S. Francis, with
righteous zeal and great severity, said : " O
Brother Juniper, why hast thou now given so
great scandal ? not without reason doth this man
complain and is so wroth against us : and per-
chance he is now going through the city, speaking
evil of us for such ill-doing, and I ween he hath
good reason. Wherefore I command thee by
holy obedience, that thou run after him till thou
come up with him, and throw thyself upon the
ground before him and confess thy fault, promis-
ing to make such satisfaction and after such a
fashion that he may have no ground to complain
of us : for of a truth this has been too grievous an
offence." Brother Juniper marvelled much at the
words aforesaid : and was amazed, being surprised
that any one should be angry at so charitable a
deed ; for it seemed to him that these temporal
things were naught, save in so far as men of their
charity shared them with their neighbours. And
Brother Juniper answered: "Doubt not, my
Father, that I will pacify him straightway, and
content him. And why should he be so disquieted,
seeing that this pig, whose foot I have cut off.

224 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

was rather God's than his, and great chanty hath
been done thereby ? '' So he set out at a run and
overtook the man ; who was exceeding wroth, out
of all measure, so that there was no whit of
patience left in him ; and he told him how and
for what cause he had cut off the foot of the pig ;
and this with as much fervour and gladness and
joy, as one that had done a great service, for the
which he ought to be well rewarded. But he,
full of anger and beside himself with fury, heaped
much abuse upon Brother Juniper, calling him
madman and fool, robber and vile thief. And
Brother Juniper cared not a whit for these words
of such abuse, yet marvelling within himself al-
though he rejoiced to be ill-spoken of: and be-
lieved he could not have understood him aright,
for it seemed to him matter for rejoicing rather
than for wrath ; and he repeated the aforesaid
story anew, and threw himself upon his neck and
embraced and kissed him : and told him how that
it had been done wholly for charity's sake, inviting
and beseeching him to do likewise with the rest ;
with such charity and simplicity and humility, that
this man coming to himself again threw himself
upon the ground not without many tears ; and
acknowledging the wrong that he had done and
said unto the brothers, went and caught the pig
and killed it, and having cooked it brought it with
great devotion and much weeping to S. Mary of
the Angels, and gave it to those holy brothers to
eat, for pity of the wrong he had done to them
And S. Francis, pondering on the simplicity and
the patience of the said holy Brother Juniper in the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 225

hour of trial, said to his companions and the others
standing round : " Would to God, my brothers,
that I had a whole forest of such Junipers ! "

//. An instance of the great power of Brother
Juniper over the devil

How the devils could not endure the purity of
the innocence and deep humility of Brother Juniper,
doth clearly appear herein, that on a time a certain
man possessed with a devil, contrary to all his wont
and with antics most strange, sprang out of the
way he was going in, and of a sudden set ofF run-
ning and fled by divers crossways for seven miles.
And being asked by his kinsfolk, that with great
anguish of spirit followed after him, wherefore he
had fled away with such strange antics, he answered
them : " The reason is this : because that mad
fellow Juniper was passing by that way : not being
able to endure his presence nor to look on him, I
fled away into these woods." And certifying them-
selves of the truth thereof, they found that Brother
Juniper, in that very hour, had come along that
way, even as the devil had said. Wherefore S.
Francis, when they brought to him those that were
possessed to be healed, if the devils departed not
straightway at his command, would say : " If thou
come not out of this creature of God straightway,
I will send for Brother Juniper to deal with thee:''
and thereat the devil, fearing the presence of
Brother Juniper, and not being able to endure the
virtue and humility of S. Francis, would depart
straightway.

p

22 6 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

///. How, by the device of the devil. Brother Juniper
was condemned to the gibbet

On a time the devil, wishing to put Brother
Juniper in fear, and vex him with trouble and
adversity, went to a very cruel tyrant that was
called Nicholas, the which was then at war with
the city of Viterbo, and said : *' Sir, look well to
this your castle, for presently there is coming here
a false traitor, sent by the folk of Viterbo, to kill
you and set this castle on fire. And in token of
the truth thereof, I give you these signs : He will
come as a beggar, in garments all torn and patched,
and his cowl hanging all tattered on his shoulder ;
and he will bring with him an awl wherewith to
kill you, and flint and steel to set fire to the castle
withal ; and if you find not that this be true, on
my head be it/' At these words Nicholas was all
distraught and filled with fear, for he that told
him these words seemed to be an honest man.
And he gave orders that the watch should be kept
with care, and that if this fellow with the signs
aforesaid should come, he should be brought before
him straightway. Meantime came Brother Juniper
alone, for by reason of his perfection he had leave
to go and to stay alone, just as he pleased. Now
there met him certain lusty youths, that began to
laugh him to scorn and make mock of him. At
all this he was not disquieted, but rather led them
on to be more merry with him. And when he came
to the gate of the castle, and the guards beheld
him so ill-favoured, in garments so scant and all

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 2 2'7

torn ; for part of his habit for the love of God he
had given to the poor on the way, and looked no
whit like a Brother Minor ; sith the signs that had
been given them were so clearly manifest, they
dragged him furiously before that tyrant Nicholas.
And when they of the household searched him, to
see if he had arms to do hurt withal, they found
in his sleeve an awl with which he used to mend
his sandals ; also they found a flint and steel,
which he carried to light a fire ; for oftentimes he
lived in the woods and deserts. Nicholas seeing
these signs upon him, according to the testimony
of the accusing devil, ordered that his head should
be bound tight with cords, and so was it done, and
with such cruelty that the cord entered right into
his flesh. Then they laid him on the rack, and let
stretch and pull his arms and tear his body all in
pieces without any mercy. And when they asked
him if he wanted to betray the castle and give it
up to the people of Viterbo, he answered : " I am
the worst of traitors, and undeserving of any good."
And when they asked him if with that awl he
wished to kill the tyrant Nicholas, and burn the
castle, he answered : " Much worse things should
I do, if God permitted it." Then Nicholas, over-
come with anger, would no more examine him ;
but without delay he furiously condemned Brother
Juniper, as a traitor and a murderer, to be tied to
the tail of a horse, and dragged along the ground
to the gibbet and there straightway hanged by the
neck. And Brother Juniper made no defence, but
as one that for the love of God is well contented
in the midst of troubles, was all joyful and glad.

22 8 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

And whenthe command of the tyrant wasexecuted,
and Brother Juniper was tied by the feet to the
tail of a horse and dragged along the ground, he
uttered no complaint or lamentation, but as a gentle
lamb that is brought to the slaughter, he went
in all humility. At this sight and such sudden
justice, ran all the people there to see him executed
with such cruel haste, and no one recognised him.
Nathless, as God willed, a good man that had seen
Brother Juniper seized, and now beheld him so
quickly judged to die, ran to the house of the
Brothers Minor, and said : " For the love of God,
I pray you come quickly, for a poor man hath been
taken and sentence passed on him at once, and he
hath been led away to die : come, at least that he
may give up his soul into your hands, for he seems
to me a good man, and hath had no time to confess
him ; and he hath been led away to the gallows,
and he seemeth to keep no care for death nor for
the salvation of his soul : oh ! come quickly, I
beseech you." The Guardian, who was a com-
passionate man, went at once to care for the man's
salvation : and winning there, he could not find
entrance for the press of the folk that had gathered
together to see this execution ; so he stood and
bided his time, and as he waited he heard a voice
in the midst of the crowd crying : *' Let be, let
be, you little rogues, you hurt my legs." At the
sound of this voice, with fervour of spirit he threw
himself into the midst of them, and took off the
covering from the man's face, and then he recog-
nised of a truth that it was Brother Juniper :
wherefore for pity's sake the Guardian would have

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 229

taken off his own habit and have put it on Brother
Juniper. And he with cheerful countenance, as
though laughing, said : " O Guardian, thou art
too fat, and it would look but ill to see you
stripped : I will not have it." Then the Guardian
with much weeping prayed the executioners and
all the people for pity's sake to wait a little while,
till he should go and entreat the tyrant for Brother
Juniper, if perchance he might pardon him. The
executioners and certain folk that stood by, con-
senting thereunto, believing in sooth that the man
was of his kinsfolk, the devout and compassionate
Guardian gat him to the tyrant Nicholas with
bitter weeping, and said : " My lord, I am in such
amazement and distress of mind, as my tongue
could never tell ; for it seemeth to me that in this
land hath been committed this day the greatest sin
and the greatest wrong that hath ever been done
since the days of our forefathers : and I believe
that it has been done through ignorance." Nicholas
heard him patiently, and then asked the Guardian :
" What is the great sin and wrong that hath this
day been committed in this land ? " Replied the
Guardian : " My lord, that one of the holiest
brothers now in the Order of S. Francis, unto which
thou hast a singular devotion, has by thee been
condemned to so cruel a sentence, and of a surety,
I ween, without good reason." Quoth Nicholas :
*' Now tell me. Guardian, who is this? for per-
chance unwittingly I may have done great wrong."
Quoth the Guardian : " He whom thou hast con-
demned to death, is Brother Juniper, companion
of S. Francis." All horror-stricken, for he had

2 30 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

heard of the fame and of the holy life of Brother
Juniper, and all pale as though with amaze, the
tyrant Nicholas ran with the Guardian, and came
to Brother Juniper, and loosed him from the tail
of the horse and set him free, and in the presence
of all the people fell flat upon his face before
Brother Juniper,and with much great weeping con-
fessed his fault for the grievous wrong and for the
outrage that he had had done to this holy brother ;
and added : " I believe of a sooth that the days
of my evil life are drawing to an end, sith I have
so evil intreated this holy man without any good
reason. God for my evil life will suffer me in
a few days to die an evil death, albeit I did it
unwittingly." Brother Juniper freely forgave the
tyrant Nicholas : but God suffered it that a few
days thereafter that tyrant Nicholas ended his
days with a cruel death. And Brother Juniper
departed, leaving all the people edified.

IV. How Brother Juniper gave to the poor whatso-
ever he could^ for the love of God

Such pity had Brother Juniper for the poor and
such compassion, that when he saw any one that
was ill clad or naked, he would at once take off
his tunic and the cowl of his cloak, and give it
to the poor man : wherefore the Guardian com-
manded him by holy obedience that he should give
to no poor person the whole of his tunic or any
part of his habit. Now it happened that a few
days afterwards he met a poor man half-naked,
who asked alms of Brother Juniper for the love

V

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 231

of God : to whom with much compassion he said :
**I have nothing I can give thee, save my tunic:
and my Superior hath by holy obedience enjoined
me not to give it nor any part of my habit to any
one ; but if thou take it off my back, I will not
say thee nay." He spoke not to the deaf; for
straightway the poor man pulled his tunic off his
back and went off with it, leaving Brother Juniper
naked. And when he returned to the house and
was asked where his tunic was, he answered : ''A
good man took it off my back and went away with
it." And the virtue of compassion still growing
in him, he was not content with giving away his
tunic, but gave away books and vestments and
mantles, and whatsoever he could lay hands upon
he would give to the poor. And for this reason
the brothers left nothing lying about, for that
Brother Juniper gave away everything for the love
of God and for His glory.

V. How Brother Juniper cut ofi certain hells from the
altar ^ and gave them away for the love of God

Once on a time about the Nativity of Christ
Brother Juniper was at Assisi, in deep meditation
before the altar of the convent, the which altar
was right well decorated and adorned ; at the
prayer of the sacristan. Brother Juniper remained
to guard the said altar while the sacristan went
away to eat. And as he stood in devout medita-
tion, a poor woman begged alms of him for the
love of God. To whom Brother Juniper made
answer thus : *' Wait a little, and I will see if I

2 32 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

can give you something from this altar so richly
decked." Now on this altar there was a fringe
of gold right lordly, and adorned with little silver
bells of great price. Quoth Brother Juniper :
'' These bells are a superfluity ; " and he took a
knife and cut them all off from the fringe, and
gave them to that poor woman for pity's sake.
When the sacristan had eaten three or four mouth-
fuls, he called to mind the ways of Brother Juniper,
and began much to doubt lest Brother Juniper,
through his zeal of charity, might play him some
trick with the altar so richly decked, that he had
left in his charge. And straightway in doubt he
rose from the table and gat him to the church,
and looked to see if any of the ornaments of the
altar had been removed or carried away ; and he
saw that all the little bells had been torn off and
cut away from the fringe : whereat he was beyond
all measure angered and disquieted. Brother
Juniper, seeing him so troubled, said : '' Be not
distressed about those bells, for I have given them
to a poor woman that had the greatest need of
them, and here they were of no use at all, save only
for vain, worldly pomp." Hearing this, the sac-
ristan in great trouble ran straightway through
the church and all through the city, if perchance
he might find her again : but not only did he find
her not, but found no one that had seen her. So
he returned to the House, and in a rage took up
the fringe and brought it to the General, who was
at Assisi, and said : " Father General, I cry
justice against Brother Juniper, the which hath
spoiled this fringe of mine, the noblest that there

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 233

was in all the sacristy ; now see how he hath
handled it and cut off all the silver bells, and
tells me that to some poor woman he hath given
them away." Replied the General: ''It is not
Brother Juniper that hath done this, but rather
thine own stupidity ; for thou shouldest by this
time know what manner of man he is : and I tell
thee that I am surprised that he hath not given
away all the rest ; but nathless I will correct him
well for this fault." And calling all the brothers
together in Chapter, he sent for Brother Juniper :
and in the presence of all the community, reproved
him very harshly on account of the bells aforesaid ;
and so wrathful did he grow, that by raising his
voice, he became quite hoarse. Brother Juniper
cared little and wellnigh nothing for his words,
for he took delight in insults, whenever he was
well abused : but in pity for the hoarseness of the
General, he began to bethink him of a remedy.
And having received the rebuke of the General,
Brother Juniper went to the city and ordered and
let make a good pottage of flour and butter ; and
when a good part of the night was passed, he re-
turned and lit a candle and went with the pottage
to the General's cell, and knocked. When the
General opened the door and saw him standing
there with the lighted candle and the pottage in
his hand, he asked softly : " What is it ^ " Replied
Brother Juniper : " My father, to-day when thou
didst reprove me for my faults, I saw that thy
voice grew hoarse, I ween it were through over-
much fatigue ; wherefore I bethought me of a
remedy, and let make this mess of flour for thee ;

234 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

therefore I pray thee eat it, for I do assure thee,
it will ease thy chest and throat." Quoth the
General : " What hour is this for you to come
disturbing folk ? " Replied Brother Juniper: "See,
it has been made for thee ; I pray thee, make no
more ado, but eat it, for it will do thee much
good." And the General, being wroth for the
lateness of the hour and his importunity, bade
him begone, for he had no wish to eat at such an
hour, calling him scoundrel and caitiff. Brother
Juniper, seeing that neither prayers nor coaxing
could aught avail, said : *' My father, sith thou
wilt not eat, and this pottage hath been made for
thee, do this at least for me ; hold the candle for
me and I will eat it." Then the General, being
a pious man and devout, perceiving the piety and
simplicity of Brother Juniper, and that out of de-
votion he had done all this, replied : ** Come now,
since thou wilt have it so, let us eat it, you and I
together." And they twain ate the pottage of
flour by reason of his importunate charity. And
they were refreshed much more by devotion than
by the food.

VI. How Brother Juniper kept silence for six months

Once on a time Brother Juniper resolved to keep
silence for six months after this manner. On the
first day, for the love of the Heavenly Father,
on the second day, for the love of Jesu Christ,
His Son. On the third, for the love of the Holy
Spirit. On the fourth day, out of reverence for
the most holy Virgin Mary ; and thus, in order.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 235

each day for the love of some saint, he kept the
six months in silence.

VII. An example of how to resist the^ temptations

of the flesh

Brother Giles, and Brother Simon of Assisi, and
Brother Juniper being on a time met together to
speak of God and of the salvation of the soul,
quoth Giles unto the other brothers : " How do
ye deal with temptations to carnal sin ? " Quoth
Brother Simon : '' I think on the vileness and the
shame of sin, and a strong hatred thereof taketh
hold on me, and so I escape." Quoth Brother
Ruffino : " I throw myself down upon the ground,
and continue in prayer, calling on the mercy of
God and the Mother of Jesu Christ, until I feel
myself wholly freed." Replied Brother Juniper :
" When I am ware of the tumult of the devilish
suggestions of the flesh, at once I run and shut
the door of my heart, and for the safety of the
fortress of my heart, I occupy myself in holy
meditations and holy desires : so that, when the
carnal suggestion cometh or knocketh at the
door of my heart, I answer as it were from within :
' Begone, for the lodging is already ta'en, and no
more folk may enter here within : ' and thus no
evil thought is suff^ered to find entrance within
my heart : so that seeing itself conquered, it
departs as it were discomfited, not only from me,
but from all the country round." Brother Giles
answered and said : " Brother Juniper, I hold
with thee, for one cannot fight better with the

236 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

enemy of the flesh than by running away ; for the
carnal appetite that is a traitor within, and the
senses of the body without, make themselves felt
as enemies so mighty and so strong, that one can-
not conquer save by flight. Therefore he that
does not want to fight in any other way, after the
toil of battle oft-times gains the victory. Then
flee from vice and thou shalt be the conqueror."

VIII. How Brother Juniper abased himself for
the glory of God

Once on a time Brother Juniper desiring utterly
to abase himself, stripped himself to his breeches,
and making a bundle of his clothes set them upon
his head, and thus half-naked entered into Viterbo,
and went into the public square to be mocked at.
As he stood there, the children and the boys,
deeming him out of his senses, made mock of him,
throwing mud upon his back, and pelting him
with stones, pushing him now here, now there, with
many a scoff and jeer ; and so tormented and
laughed to scorn he stood there a great part of
the day ; after which he gat him back to the
convent. And the brothers seeing him were very
angry, chiefly because he had gone all through
the city with his bundle on his head, and they
reproved him harshly and threatened him. And
the one said : '' Let us put him in prison ; " and
the other said : " Let us hang him ; " and the
rest said : " No punishment ye might devise could
be too great for so bad an example as he has set
this day, to his shame and that of all the Order.*'

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 237

And Brother Juniper, full of joy, replied in all
humility: **Well and truly have ye spoken, for
of these punishments am I worthy and of much
more."

IX. How Brother Juniper played see-saw to
abase himself

On a time as Brother Juniper was going to
Rome, where the fame of his sanctity was already
spread abroad, many Romans through their great
devotion went out to meet him : and Brother
Juniper seeing so many people coming, bethought
him how he might turn their devotion into scorn
and derision. There were two children there,
playing at see-saw, to wit, they had put one log
across another log, and each sat at his own end
and so went up and down. Brother Juniper went
and put one of these children ofF the log, and
got up himself, and began to see-saw up and
down. Meanwhile the folk came up and mar-
velled to behold Brother Juniper a see-sawing :
none the less with great devotion they saluted
him and waited for him to finish his game of
see-saw, so as to bear him company with all honour
to the convent. And Brother Juniper paid little
heed to their salutations, their reverence, and
their waiting for him, but took much great pains
with his see-sawing. And waiting thus for some
time, certain among them began to grow weary,
and said : *' What mad fellow is this ? " Others

knowing his ways, grew in greater devotion ;

nathless they all went away and left Brother

238 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

Juniper on the see-saw. And when that they
were all gone, Brother Juniper remained altogether
conforted, because he had seen some folk that
made a mock at him. So he went on his way
and entered into Rome with all meekness and
humility, and came to the convent of the Brothers
Minor.

X. How Brother Juniper once cooked a fortnight's
food for the brethren

On a time when Brother Juniper was staying in
a very small House belonging to the brothers, it
befell that for a certain reason all the brothers had
to go out, and Brother Juniper remained in the
house alone. Ouoth the Guardian : " Brother
Juniper, we are all going out, and therefore see to
it that when we return, you have cooked a little
food for the refreshment of the brothers." Re-
plied Brother Juniper : " Right willingly, leave
that to me." All the brothers having gone out,
as hath been said, quoth Brother Juniper : '* What
unprofitable trouble is this, that one brother should
be lost in the kitchen, and kept away from all
prayer ? Of a surety, now that I am left behind
this time to cook, I will make ready so much that
all the brothers, and even were there more of them,
will have enough for a fortnight.'* And so with
all diligence he went into the country, and begged
for several large cooking-pots, and got fresh meat
and salted fowls, eggs, and herbs, and begged for
firewood in plenty, and put them all on the fire,
to wit, the fowls with their feathers on, and the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 239

eggs in their shells, and all the rest in like fashion.
When the brothers were come back to the house,
one that was well aware of Brother Juniper's
simplicity, went into the kitchen, and saw so many
great pots on an enormous fire ; and he sat him
down and looked on in amazement, but said nothing
at all, watching with what care Brother Juniper did
his cooking. Because the fire was very fierce and
he could not well get near to skim the pots, he
took a plank and with a rope tied it tight to his
body, and then kept jumping from one pot to
another, that it was a joy to look at him. Having
watched it all with great delight, that brother left
the kitchen, and found the other brothers, and said
to them : " I can assure you, Brother Juniper is
making a marriage-feast." But the brothers took
his words as a jest. And Brother Juniper lifted
the pot from the fire and let ring the dinner-bell ;
and the brothers sat them down to table, and he
came into the refectory with his dishes, all red with
his labours and the heat of the fire, and said to the
brothers : " Eat well : and then let us all go to
prayer, and let no one think any more of cooking
for a while ; for I have cooked so much food to-
day, that I shall have enough for more than a fort-
night.'* And Brother Juniper set his stew on the
table before the brothers, and there is not a pig in
all the land of Rome so famished as to have eaten
it. But Brother Juniper cried up his dishes, for to
find a customer ; and seeing that the brothers were
eating nought thereof, said : " Now these fowls
are strengthening to the brain, and this stew will
refresh the body, it is so good." And while the

240 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

brothers were full of amazement and devotion to
see the devotion and simplicity of Brother Juniper,
the Guardian being wroth with such stupidity and
the waste of so much good food, reproved him
roughly. Then Brother Juniper threw himself
upon the ground and kneeled before the Guardian,
and humbly confessed his fault to him and all the
brothers, saying : " I am the worst of men ; such
a one committed such and such a crime, and had
his eyes put out ; but I deserve it more than he :
such a one for his wickedness was hung, but I
deserve it much more for my evil deeds : sith I
have wasted so many of the good things of God
and of the Order." And so all sorrowfully he
went away, and all that day he did not show him-
self where any of the brothers were. Then quoth
the Guardian : " My brothers most dear, if only
we had it, I would that every day this brother
spoiled as much as he hath to-day, if so he might
be edified, for great simplicity and charity have
made him do this thing."

XI. How Brother Juniper went on a time to Assisi
for his own confusion

On a time when Brother Juniper was dwelling
in the Valley of Spoleto, being ware that there was
a great festival at Assisi and that much folk was
winning there with great devotion, there came to
him the wish to go to that festival ; and behold !
Brother Juniper stripped himself to his breeches
and so set out, passing through Spoleto right
through the middle of the town, and came to the

V

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 241

convent. The brothers being much disquieted and
scandalised, reproved him full harshly, calling him
madman and fool, crying out against him that he
would bring ruin on the Order of S. Francis, and
ought to be chained up as a lunatic. And the
General, who was then in the convent, let call all
the brothers and Brother Juniper, and in the pres-
ence of the whole community gave him a harsh
and severe reproof. And after many words of
sternest condemnation, he said to Brother Juniper :
" Thy fault is such, and is so grievous, that I
know not what fitting penance to lay on thee."
Replied Brother Juniper, as one that delighted
in his own confusion : " Father, I will tell thee
one : to wit, that in the same manner as I came
hither, so for penance sake I should return to
the place whence I started for to come to this
festival."

XII. How Brother Juniper was rapt in ecstasy while
celebrating the Mass

As Brother Juniper on a time was hearing Mass
with much devotion, he was rapt in ecstasy with
mind uplifted for a long time. And having been
left in a room far removed from the brothers,
coming to himself again, he began with great fer-
vour to say : '^ O my brothers, who is there so
exalted in this life that would not gladly carry a
basket of dung through all the world, if he had
given him a whole house full of gold ì " And
he said : " Alas, that we are not willing to endure
a little shame to gain the blessed life."

Q

242 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

XIII. Of the sorrow that Brother Juniper felt at the
death of his companion^ Brother Amazialhene

Brother Juniper had as his companion a brother
named Amazialhene, whom he very dearly loved.
This man possessed in the highest degree the
virtues of patience and obedience ; for, if he were
beaten for the whole day long, he would never
murmur nor complain with a single word. He
was oft-times sent to houses where the community
was hard to live with, at whose hands he suffered
much persecution : the which he endured most
patiently, without any murmuring. According
to the bidding of Brother Juniper, he would weep
and laugh. Now this Brother Amazialhene, as
it pleased God, died in the best repute : and
Brother Juniper hearing of his death, felt such
sorrow in his soul as he had never had in all his
life from any earthly cause. And thuswise did
he show forth the great bitterness that he felt
within, and said: ''Woe is me! wretched man
that I am, for now is no good thing left to me ;
and the world is undone through the death of
my sweet and dearest brother, Amazialhene ! ''
And he said : *' If it were not that I should
have no peace with the brothers, I would go to
his grave and take up his head ; and out of his
head I would make two porringers ; one of which
I would always eat out of, in memory of him
and for my devotion's sake : and from the other
I would drink, whenever I was thirsty and wished
to drink.*'

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 2^3

XIV. Of the hand that Brother Juniper saw
in the air

Brother Juniper being on a time at prayer and
thinking perhaps great things of himself, there
appeared to him a hand in the air above him, and
with the ears of his body he heard a voice, that
spake to him thus : " O Brother Juniper, without
this hand thou canst do nothing." Whereat he
at once arose, and lifting up his eyes and turning
them heavenward, said in a loud voice, as he ran
through the convent : " 'Tis true indeed, 'tis true
indeed." And these words he said again and
again for a long while.

XV. An example of Brother Leo^ how S. Francis
bade him wash the stone

In the mount of Alvernia, as S. Francis was
speaking with Brother Leo, quoth S. Francis :
*' Brother little sheep, wash this stone with water."
Brother Leo was quick, and washed the stone with
water. Quoth S. Francis with great joy and
gladness : " Wash it with wine ; " and so was it
done. " Wash it," quoth S. Francis, " with oil ; "
and even so was it done. Quoth S. Francis :
*' Brother little sheep, wash this stone with balsam."
Replied Brother Leo : ** O sweet father, how
can I find balsam in so wild a place as this ì "
Replied S. Francis : " Know, brother little sheep
of Christ, that is the stone whereon Christ did
sit when He appeared on a time to me here ; and

244 S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

therefore have I said to thee four times, Wash it ;
and keep silence ; for Jesu Christ hath promised
unto me four special graces for my Order. The
first is that all they that shall love my Order with
their whole heart, and the brothers that shall
persevere, shall by the grace of God make a good
end. The second is that the persecutors of this
Order shall notably be punished. The third is
that no wicked man shall be able to remain long
in this Order, if so be he continue in his wicked-
ness. The fourth is that this Order shall endure
even unto the last judgment.'*

I

THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED BROTHER
GILES, THE COMPANION OF S.
FRANCIS

/. How Brother Giles and three companions were received
into the Order of the Minors

Seeing that the examples of holy men do put in
the minds of devout hearers to despise the fleeting
joys of earth, and that they have wherewith to stir
up the desire of eternal salvation : to the honour
of God and His most worshipful Mother Our
Lady, holy Mary, and for the profit of all that
may hear the same, I will speak certain words
touching the working which the Holy Spirit hath
worked in our holy Brother Giles, the which, being
still in the secular habit, and being touched of the
Holy Spirit, began within himself to consider
how in all his works he might please God alone.
About this time did S. Francis, like a new herald
of God sent as an ensample of godly life, humility
and holy penitence, two years after his conver-
sion, draw and attract to the observance of gospel
poverty a certain man adorned with marvellous
prudence and very rich in temporal goods, named
Messer Bernard ; and also Peter Cattani ; so that

by the counsel of S. Francis they distributed unto

245

246 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

the poor, for the love of God, all their, worldly
treasures, and took to themselves the glory of
patience and of gospel perfectness, and the habit
of the Brothers Minor ; and with exceeding great
fervour they promised to observe the Rule all the
days of their life, and even so did they in all per-
fection. Eight days after the conversion set forth
above and the distribution of their goods to the
poor, whileas Brother Giles was still wearing the
secular garb, beholding how those noble knights
of Assisi despised the world, so that the whole
country round was in amazement, being all afire
with love divine, on the following day, which was
the feast of S. George, in the year twelve hundred
and nine, very early in the morning, as one that
was careful for his salvation, he went to the church
of S. Gregory, where was the convent of S. Clare ;
and when he had done his prayers, being much
desirous to see S. Francis, he went to the lepers'
hospital, where he lived with Brother Bernard and
Brother Peter Cattani, dwelling apart in a hut in
the deepest humility. And being come unto a
cross-way, and not knowing by which way to go,
he lifted up his prayer to Christ, the precious
Guide, who led him to the said hut by the straight
way. And as he pondered on that for the which
he had come, S. Francis met him, as he was walk-
ing in the wood, whither he had come to pray ;
then straightway he threw himself on the ground
on his knees before S. Francis, and humbly be-
sought him for the love of God to take him as
one of his companions. S. Francis, gazing on the
devout aspect of Brother Giles, answered and said :

i^^m^^Èam^mma^tÈ

S. FRANCIS, Wrni S. l',KRN.\kl) KNKKI.IN(; i;i;illNI) HIM

((_'hii/>tfr I louse oj tJir Coni^efit of S. Marco, {''lorciuc)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 247

'* Brother most dear, God hath shown Himself ex-
ceeding gracious unto thee. If the emperor were
to come to Assisi and desire to make a certain
citizen his knight or private chamberlain, ought
not such a one to be exceeding glad ? How much
more oughtest thou not to rejoice that God hath
chosen thee out to be His knight and well-beloved
servant, to observe the perfection of the Holy
Gospel ? be thou therefore steadfast and firm in
the vocation whereto God hath called thee." And
he took him by the hand and lifted him up, and
brought him into the little house aforesaid ; and
he called Brother Bernard, and said : '' The Lord
God hath sent us a good brother, for whom we
should all rejoice in the Lord ; let us eat together
in charity." And when that they had eaten, S.
Francis went with the said Giles to Assisi, for to
get cloth to make the habit for Brother Giles.
They found by the way a poor woman that asked
alms of them for the love of God ; and not know-
ing how to relieve the poor woman, S. Francis
turned towards Brother Giles with an angelic
countenance, and said : " For the love of God,
dear brother, let us give this mantle to the poor
woman." And Brother Giles obeyed the holy
Father with so ready a heart that it seemed to
him he saw that alms fly at once to heaven, and
Brother Giles flew with it straight to heaven : so
that he felt within himself joy unspeakable and a
fresh renewing of spirit. When S. Francis had
got the cloth and made the habit, he received
Brother Giles into the Order, and he was one of
the most glorious Religious that the world had at

248 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

that time in the contemplative life. After the
reception of Brother Giles, S. Francis went with
him straightway to the March of Ancona, singing
with him glorious praises of the Lord of heaven
and earth ; and he said to Brother Giles : " Little
son, our Order will be like unto the fisher, that
casts his net into the sea and gathers a multitude of
fishes, and the large he keeps and leaves the small
in the water." Brother Giles marvelled at this
prophecy, for as yet there were in the Order only
three brothers and S. Francis ; and albeit S. Francis
did not yet preach publicly to the people, yet as he
went by the way he admonished and corrected the
men-folk and the women-folk, saying lovingly to
them these simple words : " Love and fear God,
and do fit penance for your sins." And Brother
Giles would say : *' Do what this my spiritual
Father saith unto you, for he speaketh right well."

//. Hozv Brother Giles went to S. James the Great

As time wore on, Brother Giles, by leave of S.
Francis, went on a time to S. James the Great in
Galicia, and in all that journey only once did he
suffer hunger by reason of the great dearth that
was in all the country. For as he went along
asking alms and finding none that would show
him charity, in the evening he lighted by chance
on a threshing-floor, wherein had been left some
dry beans, the which he gathered up, and these
were his evening meal ; and there he slept the
night, for of his own will he dwelt in solitary

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 24*9

places and remote from other folk, that he might
the better give himself up to prayers and vigils.
And through this meal he was so much strength-
ened by God, that if he had eaten of divers dishes,
he deemed he could not have found so much re-
freshment therein. As he went on his way, he
found by the roadside a poor man that asked an
alms for the love of God. And Brother Giles full
of charity, seeing that he had naught else save the
habit on his back, cut off the cowl from his old
cloak, and gave it to the poor man for the love
of God ; and thus for twenty days together he
journeyed on without a cowl. And as he was
coming back through Lombardy, he was called by
a man, to whom he went right willingly, thinking
to receive an alms of him : and when he stretched
out his hand, that other put therein a pair of dice,
inviting him to play. Brother Giles made answer
right humbly : *' God forgive thee, my son.'* So, as
he took his way through the world, he suffered much
mocking, and bore it all with a tranquil mind.

///. After what fashion Brother Giles led hii life
when he went to the Holy Sepulchre

Brother Giles went to visit the Holy Sepulchre
of Christ, by leave of S. Francis, and came to the
port of Brindisi, and there he tarried many days
by reason of there being no ship ready. And
Brother Giles, desiring to live by the labour of
his hands, begged for a pitcher, and filling it with
water went crying through the city : ** Who lacks

250 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

water ? " And by his labour he earned bread and
such things as be needful for the life of the body,
both for himself and for his companion ; and then
he went over-sea, and visited the Holy Sepulchre
of Christ and the other holy places, with great
devotion. And coming back again, he tarried in
the city of Ancona for many days ; and for that
he was wont to live by the labour of his hands,
he made baskets of rushes and sold them, not
for money, but for bread for himself and his
companion, and for the self-same wage he carried
the dead for the burying. And when this failed
him, he returned to the table of Jesu Christ,
begging alms from door to door. And so with
much toil and poverty, he returned to S. Mary of
the Angels.

IV. How Brother Giles praised obedience more
than prayer

On a time a certain brother was at prayer in
his cell, and the guardian sent to him bidding
him by holy obedience go and beg for alms.
Whereat straightway he gat him to Brother Giles,
and said : " My father, I was at prayer, and the
guardian has bidden me go and beg tor bread :
and to me it seemeth to be better to continue in
prayer." Replied Brother Giles : '* My son, hast
thou not yet learned or understood what manner
of thing is prayer ì True prayer is to do the
will of one*s Superior ; and it is a sign of great
pride in one who hath put his neck under the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 251

yoke of holy obedience, if on any account he
avoid it, to the end that he may work his own
will, thinking thereby to act more perfectly. The
Religious who is perfectly obedient is like a rider
mounted on a powerful horse, through whose
strength he goes boldly on his way ; but on the
contrary the disobedient, complaining, and unwill-
ing Religious, is like a man mounted on a lean
and weak and vicious horse, for after doing a
little work it is left behind either dead or taken
by the enemy. I tell thee that if a man were so
devout and so uplifted in soul as to speak with
Angels, and while thus speaking were called by
his Superior, he ought straightway to leave the
converse of the Angels and be obedient unto him
that is set over him."

V, How Brother Giles lived by the labour
of his hands

Brother Giles being on a time in a convent at
Rome, desired to live by the work of his hands,
as had been his wont ever since he entered the
Order, and he did after this manner. In the
morning early he heard a Mass with much devo-
tion : then he went to the wood, which was eight
miles distant from Rome, and brought back on
his shoulders a bundle of wood, and sold it for
bread and other things to eat. One time among
others, as he was returning with a load of wood,
a woman wished to buy it of him ; and having
made a bargain and fixed the price, he carried it

252 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

to her house. The woman, despite the bargain
she had made, seeing that he was a Religious,
gave him more than she had promised him.
Quoth Brother Giles : '' Good woman, I would
not that the vice of greed should overcome me :
therefore will I take no more than the price that
I have bargained for with thee." So not only
would he take no more, but left half of the price
agreed upon, and gat him gone ; whereat the
woman was filled with exceeding great reverence
for him. Thus did Brother Giles alway give
good heed to holy honesty in all the work he did
for hire. He used to help the labourers gather
the olives and strip the vines. Whileas he was
one day in the market-place, a certain man wished
to let beat his walnut trees, and asked another to
beat them for a price : but he made excuse, because
it was a long way off, and the trees were very
hard to climb. Quoth Brother Giles : *' My
friend, if thou wilt give me a part of the nuts,
I will go with thee to beat them ; " and having
covenanted with him, he set forth, and having
first made the sign of the most holy Cross, with
great fear climbed up the walnut tree for to beat
it. And when he had done beating, the share
that fell to him was so large that he could not
carry it in his lap ; wherefore he took off his
habit, and tying the sleeves and the hood together,
he made a sack of it ; and his habit thus full of
nuts, he put it on his back and carried it to Rome,
and gave them all with great joy to the poor, for
the love of God. When the corn was cut. Brother
Giles used to go with other poor folk to glean

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 253

the ears ; and if any one offered him a handful
of corn, he would answer : "My brother, I have
no granary wherein to store it ; " and most times
he gave the ears away for the love of God.
Brother Giles but seldom helped another all day
long, for he would bargain to have some time
to say the canonical hours and not miss his mental
prayers. On a time Brother Giles went to the
Fountain of S. Sixtus to draw water for the monks,
and a man asked him to give him to drink.
Replied Brother Giles : " And how can I carry
the vessel half empty to the monks ? " He being
angered spake unto Brother Giles many words
of insult and of contumely : and Brother Giles
returned to the monks much grieved in spirit.
Borrowing a large vessel, he returned straightway
to the said fountain for water, and found the
man again ; and said : " My friend, take and
drink as much as thy soul desireth, and be not
angered for that I deemed it ill-beseeming to
carry water whereof one had drunk to those holy
monks." Then the man repenting him, and
constrained by the charity and humility of Brother
Giles, confessed his fault, and from that hour
forth held him in high reverence.

VI. How Brother Giles was miraculously cared for in
a time of great need^ when by reason of the deep
snow he could not go to beg alms

Brother Giles being at Rome in the house of a
cardinal, as the time of the greater Lent drew

2 54 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

nigh, and not finding such peace of mind as he
desired, said to the cardinal: "My father, by
your leave, I wish to go for the peace of my soul
to pass this Lent with my companion in some
lonely place.'' Replied the cardinal : "Alas! my
brother most dear, and whither wouldest thou go ?
The famine is full sore : as yet ye know the land
but ill ; come, be content to continue in my court,
for right well pleased shall I be to give you what-
soe'er ye need, for the love of God." Howbeit
Brother Giles would fain be gone, and he gat him
forth from Rome to a high mountain, where of
old had stood a village, and still was found a de-
serted church that was called S. Laurence, and he
entered therein, he and his companion, and they
continued in prayer and in much meditation ; they
were unknown, and thereby was little reverence
and devotion paid to them; wherefore they suffered
great want : and therewithal there fell deep snow
that lasted many days. They could not go outside
the church, and no man sent them aught to eat,
nor had they anything with them, and so they re-
mained shut up for three days and nights. Brother
Giles seeing that he could not live by the labour of
his hands, and that he could not go out to beg for
alms, said to his companion : " My brother most
dear, let us cry unto the Lord with a loud voice,
that of His pity He may provide for us in this
great extremity and need ; for certain monks being
in great need, cried unto God, and the Divine
Providence supplied their wants." So after their
example they gave themselves up to prayer, be-
seeching God with all their hearts that He would

4

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 255

send them help in their great need. And God,
who is all-pitiful, had regard unto their faith and
devotion and simplicity and fervour, after this
fashion. A certain man that was looking towards
the church in which Brother Giles and his com-
panion were, being inspired of God, said within
himself: *' It may be that in yon church are sonie
good persons doing penance, who by reason of the
snow that hath so much fallen, cannot supply their
needs, and by reason thereof may die of hunger."
And urged on by the Holy Spirit, he said : " Of
a surety I will go and see whether my imagination
be true or not ; " and taking some bread and a
bottle of wine, he set out upon his way ; and with
exceeding great difficulty he came to the church
aforesaid, where he found Brother Giles and his
companion praying most devoutly ; and they were
so consumed with hunger that to all seeming they
appeared rather to be dead men than alive. He
had great compassion on them, and when they
were refreshed and comforted, he returned and
told unto his neighbours the need and the distress
of these brothers, and prevailed on them and prayed
them for the love of God to make provision for
them; so that many persons, following his example,
brought them bread and wine and other needful
viands, for the love of God ; and all through that
Lent they took such order among themselves that
in their need they were provided for. And Brother
Giles pondering on the great mercy of God and the
charity of those folk, said to his companion : ** My
brother most dear, even now have we prayed unto
God to provide for us in our need, and our prayers

256 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

have been heard : wherefore it is fitting that we
give Him thanks and glory, and pray for them
that have nourished us with their alms, and for all
Christian people." And for his great fervour and
devotion, God gave such grace unto Brother Giles
that many through his example left this blind
world, and many others whose hearts were not
turned to the religious life, did much great penance
in their own homes.

VII. Of the day of the death of the holy Brother

Giles

On the vigil of S. George at the hour of Matins,
when two and fifty years had passed away, for that
he had received the habit of S. Francis on the first
day of the month, the soul of Brother Giles was
received by God into the glory of Paradise, to
wit, on the festival of S. George.

VIII. How a holy man^ being at prayer^ saw the soul
of Brother Giles pass into life eternal

A certain good man being at prayer, what time
Brother Giles passed away from this life, saw his
soul, together with a multitude of souls, come
forth out of Purgatory and rise up into heaven :
and Jesu Christ come to meet the soul of Brother
Giles, and, with a great company of Angels and
all those souls, ascend with sweet melodies into
the glory of Paradise.

3

HRfriHKKS (ill.KS WD I I.I.I ' M I N A IO

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 257

IX, How by the merits of Brother Giles, the soul of
a friend of a certain Preaching Brother was set
free from the pains of Purgatory

When Brother Giles lay sick, so that he had
but a few days to live, a Brother of S. Dominic
fell sick unto death. Now this man had a friend
that was also a brother : who seeing that he drew
nigh unto death, said to this sick brother : " My
brother, I desire that, if God give thee leave, thou
return to me after thy death and tell me in what
state thou mayest be." So the sick man promised
to return, if it were possible : now he and Brother
Giles died on the self-same day, and after his death
he appeared to the living Preaching Brother, and
said : ** It is the will of God that I keep my pro-
mise to thee." Said the living brother to the dead :
^' How is it with thee ì " Replied the dead man :
" It is well, for I died on the very day whereon
there passed away from this life a holy Brother
Minor, named Brother Giles, unto whom, by reason
of his great sanctity, Jesu Christ granted that he
should lead to Paradise all the souls that were in
Purgatory, among the which was I, in great tor-
ment ; so by the merits of the holy Brother Giles
was I set free.'' And this said, straightway he
disappeared, and that brother revealed the vision
unto no man. Then the said brother fell sick ;
and at once surmising that God had struck him,
because he had not revealed the virtue and the
glory of Brother Giles, he sent for the Brothers
Minor, and there came to him hy^t couples ; and

R

258 S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

when he had called the Preaching Brothers also,
with great devotion he set forth unto them the
vision aforesaid ; and having diligently enquired,
they found that they twain had passed away from
this life on the self-same day.

X. How God had given graces unto Brother Giles ^
and of the year of his death

Brother Bonaventura of Bagnoreggio used to
say of Brother Giles that God had granted unto
him special grace for all such as commended them-
selves unto him with devout intention in those
things that appertain unto the soul. He wrought
many miracles in his lifetime and after his death,
as is clearly set forth in his Legend ; and he passed
away from this life unto glory everlasting in the
year of our Lord twelve hundred and fifty-two,
on the feast of S. George ; and was buried at
Perugia in the convent of the Brothers Minor.

HERE BEGIN THE CHAPTERS OF
SUNDRY GOODLY SAYINGS AND
OF THE TEACHING OF BROTHER
GILES

/. Of vices and virtues

The grace of God and virtue are a road and a

ladder whereby men may climb into Heaven ; but

vices and sins are a road and a ladder whereby to

go down to the depths of hell. Vices and sins

are a deadly poison ; but virtues and good works

are a healing medicine. One grace leadeth on

to another, and one vice leadeth on to another.

Grace seeketh not praise ; but vice cannot endure

to be despised. In humility the mind is at rest

and peace ; patience is her daughter. And holy

purity of heart sees God : but true devotion tasteth

Him. If thou lovest, thou wilt be loved. If thou

servest, thou wilt be served. If thou fearest, thou

wilt be feared. If thou doest good unto others,

it is fitting that others do good unto thee. But

blessed is he that truly loves and seeketh not love

in return. Blessed is he that fears and desires

not to be feared. Blessed is he that serves and

desires not to be served. Blessed is he that doeth

good unto others and seeketh not that others do

259

2 6o THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

good to him. But sith these things are very
high and of great perfectness, therefore the foolish
cannot know them or attain unto them. Three
things are exceeding high and useful, the which
whoso hath, shall never fall. The first is that
thou willingly endure with gladness every tribula-
tion that may come to thee, for the love of Jesu
Christ. The second is that thou humble thyself
every day in all things whatsoever thou doest and
in all things that thou lookest upon. The third
is that faithfully with all thy heart thou love that
highest, heavenly, unseen good, which none may
look upon with the eyes of the body. Those
things that are despised and reviled by worldly
men, are of a sooth more acceptable and pleasing
to God and to His Saints, and those that are more
loved and more honoured and more desired by
worldly men, these are more despised and con-
temned and hated by God and by His Saints. This
foul unfitness proceedeth from human ignorance
and wickedness ; for miserable man loveth rather
the things that he should hate, and hateth the
things that he should love. On a time Brother
Giles asked another brother, saying : '* Tell me,
dear brother, hast thou a good soul ? '' Replied
the brother : '' I wot not if I have or no." Then
said Brother Giles : *' My brother, I would have
thee know that holy contrition, and holy humility,
and holy charity, and holy devotion, and holy joy,
make the soul good and blessed."

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 261

//. Of Faith

All the things that can be thought of by the
heart, or said with the tongue, or seen with the
eyes, or touched with the hands, all are as naught
in respect and in comparison of those things that
cannot be thought of, nor seen, nor touched. All
the Saints, and all the wise men that have passed
away, and ail they that are in the present life,
and all they that shall come after us, that have
spoken or written, or shall speak or write of God,
will never show forth nor will ever be able to show
forth, concerning God so much as a grain of millet,
in respect and comparison of the heaven and the
earth, and even a hundred thousand times less. For
all that is written concerning God, speaketh as one
stammering, even as the mother that prattles to
her babe, that would not understand her words,
if she spake in other fashion. On a time Brother
Giles said to a judge that was of the world : *' Dost
thou believe that the gifts of God are great ì ''
Replied the judge: "I do believe." Whereat
Brother Giles said : '* I will show thee how thou
dost not faithfully believe," and bespake him thus :
'' What is the worth of all thy possessions in this
world ? " Replied the judge : '* They are worth,
may be, a thousand pounds." Quoth Brother
Giles : " Wouldest thou give these thy possessions
for ten thousand pounds.^" Replied the judge
without delay, saying : *' Of a sooth would I give
them right willingly : " and Brother Giles said :
'' Verily all the possessions of this world are as

262 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

naught in respect of the things of heaven : then
wherefore dost thou not give these thy possessions
unto Christ, that thou mayest gain those that be
celestial and eternal ? '' Then the judge, wise in
the foolish science of the world, answered the pure
and simple Brother Giles, full of the wisdom of
divine foolishness, saying : " Dost thou believe,
Brother Giles, that any man worketh with the
works of his hands in such measure as he believeth
in his heart ? '' Replied Brother Giles : '' Know of
very sooth, my dearly beloved, that all the Saints
have studied to fulfil in their works all that they
could know to be the will of God, according to
the measure of their power ; and all that they
could not fulfil with the working of their hands,
they fulfilled with the holy desires of their will ;
in such wise that they supplied by the desire of
their souls that which was lacking in the work of
their hands, and so they came short in nothing/'
Then quoth Brother Giles : " If there were a man
possessed of perfect faith, in a short time he would
come to a state of perfectness, wherein he would
receive full certainty of his salvation. The man
that with firm faith looketh for this eternal and
loftiest and highest good, what hurt or harm
could any earthly trouble in this present life do
to him ? And the wretched man that waiteth
for eternal woe, what blessing can any prosperity
or temporal good in this world bring to him ?
Nathless, however great a sinner a man may
be, he should not therefore despair, so long as
he liveth, of the infinite mercy of God, for there
is no tree in the world so thorny or so gnarled

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 263

or so knotty that men cannot smooth it and
polish it and trim it and make it fair to see ;
and even so there is not a man in this world so
wicked or so great a sinner that God cannot con-
vert him and adorn him with singular graces and
with manifold gifts of virtue."

///. Of holy humility

No man may come into any knowledge and
understanding of God, save by the virtue of holy
humility ; for the straight path that goeth up is
the path that leadeth down. All the dangers and
the grievous falls that have happed in this world,
have come from none other cause save from the
lifting up of the head, to wit the mind, in pride :
and the same is proved by the fall of the devil who
was cast out of heaven, and by the fall of our first
parent, to wit Adam, who was driven out of
Paradise by reason of the lifting up of his head,
to wit his disobedience, and likewise by the
Pharisee, whereof Christ speaketh in the Gospel,
and by many other examples. And so contrari-
wise, all the great blessings that have befallen this
world, have all proceeded forth from the bowing
of the head, to wit the humbling of the mind, even
as is proved by the blessed most humble Virgin
Mary, and by the Publican, and by the holy Thief
upon the Cross, and by many other examples in
the Scriptures. And therefore it would be well
if we could find some heavy and grievous weight,
the which we might always carry tied to our neck.

264 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

to the end that it might be ever bent down, to
wit, that it might ever make us humble. A certain
brother asked Brother Giles : " Tell me, father,
in what manner we may flee from this pride."
Whereunto answered Brother Giles: "My brother,
be thou assured of this, to wit, that thou canst
never hope to be able to flee from pride, unless
thou first put thy mouth where now thou hast thy
feet ; but if thou dost ponder well the loving-
kindnesses of God, then wilt thou understand that
rightly art thou bound to bend down thine head.
And likewise, if thou dost well bethink thee of
thy faults and of the many offences thou hast com-
mitted against God, thou wilt have full reason to
humble thyself. But woe unto those that desire
to be honoured for their wickedness sake. One
degree of humility is found in the man who
knoweth that he is the enemy of his own good.
One degree of humility is to render unto another
the things that are his and not to take them for
oneself; to wit, that every good thing and every
virtue that man findeth in himself, he should not
ascribe unto himself, but only unto God, from
whom Cometh every grace and every good thing ;
but every sin and passion of the soul, or whatsoever
vice man findeth in himself, he should ascribe unto
himself, seeing that it proceedeth from himself and
his own wickedness, and not from others. Blessed
is the man that knows and deems himself to be
vile before God, and so before men ! Blessed is he
that always judges himself and condemns himself
and not another ! for then he will not be judged
by that terrible and eternal last judgment. Blessed

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 265

is he that taketh heed to pass under the yoke of
obedience and under the authority of another, as
did the holy Apostles, before and after they re-
ceived the Holy Spirit ! " Likewise Brother Giles
said : " He who wishes to gain and to possess
perfect peace and rest, must needs look on every
man as his superior, and must always show himself
submissive and inferior to all. Blessed is the man
who in his actions and his speech seeketh not to
be seen or known, save only in that pure order
and in that simple adornment wherewith God hath
adorned and ordered him ! Blessed is the man
who knoweth how to keep and to hide the divine
revelations and consolations ! for there is no thing
so secret but that God reveals it whensoever it
pleaseth him. If a man were to be the most per-
fect and most holy man in the world, and think
and believe himself to be the most miserable sinner
and the vilest wretch on earth, then in this man
would be true humility. Holy humility knoweth
not how to talk, and the blessed fear of God
knoweth not how to speak.*' Quoth Brother
Giles : '* Humility seemeth to me to be like unto
a flash of lightning ; for even as the lightning
striketh a terrible blow, crashing and breaking in
pieces and burning up whatsoever it meets, and
then the flash is no more to be found ; so in like
manner humility pierces and scatters and burns
and consumes all wickedness and all vice and all
sin ; and then is found to be naught in itself.
The man that possesseth humility, through humi-
lity finds grace with God, and perfect peace with
his neighbour."

266 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

IV. Of the holy fear of God

He that fears not, shows that he hath naught to
lose. The holy fear of God orders, governs and
rules the soul, and maketh it come to grace. If
a man possesseth any grace or divine virtue, it is
holy fear that keepeth it safe. And whoso hath
not yet obtained virtue or grace, holy fear maketh
him obtain it. The holy fear of God is a guide
to guide us unto godly graces, for it maketh the
soul wherein it dwells to attain right soon unto
holy virtue and heavenly graces. All creatures that
now are fallen in sin, would never have fallen, if
they had had the holy fear of God. But this holy
gift of fear is not given save unto the perfect, for
the more perfect a man is, the more doth he fear
and humble himself. Blessed is the man that
knoweth that in this world he is in prison, and
ever remembereth how grievously he hath offended
his Lord ! Man should alway stand in great fear
of pride, lest it make a thrust at him and make
him fall from the state of grace, wherein he stands;
for man can never dwell securely, whiles he is in
the midst of our enemies ; and our enemies are
the enticements of this miserable world and our
own flesh, the which, together with the demons,
ever make war upon the soul. A man should have
greater fear of his own wickedness lest it overcome
him and lead him astray, than of any other of his
enemies. It is impossible for a man to ascend and
rise up to any grace or heavenly virtue, or persevere
in the same, without holy fear. Whoso hath not

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 267

the fear of God, is in danger of perishing and of
being altogether lost. The fear of God maketh
man to humbly obey and bend his neck under the
yoke of obedience ; and the more fear a man doth
feel, the more fervently doth he pray. No small
gift is that of prayer, unto whomsoever it may be
given. The virtuous deeds of men, however great
they may appear to us, are not accounted or re-
warded after our judgment, but after the judgment
and good pleasure of God ; for God looketh not
to the number of the works, but to the measure
of the love and humility : and therefore it is safest
for us ever to love and fear with humility, and
never to trust in ourselves for any good thing,
being always suspicious of the thoughts that arise
in the mind under the sruise of good.

V. Of holy patience

He that with firm humility and patience doth
suffer and endure tribulation, through his burning
love for God, will soon attain unto high graces
and virtues, and will be lord of this world and
will have an earnest of the glorious world to come.
Every thing that a man doth, be it good or evil,
he doeth it unto himself; wherefore be not dis-
quieted against him in that he doth thee wrong,
but rather shouldest thou have humble patience,
and only grieve for his sin, having pity on him,
and praying God effectually for him. The stronger
a man is to suffer and endure injuries and tribu-
lations patiently for the love of God, the greater

268 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

is he in the sight of God, and no more : and the
weaker a man is in enduring pain and adversity
for the love of God, the lower is he in the sight
of God. If any man praise thee, speaking well of
thee, give the glory to God alone ; and if any man
speak ill of thee and revile thee, do thou help him
by speaking ill of thyself and worse. If thou de-
sirest to maintain thine own cause, then study ever
to speak ill of it and maintain that of thy neigh-
bour, always blaming thyself and always praising
and making sincere excuses for him. When any
man wishes to contend and to go to law with thee,
do thou, if thou desirest to win, lose thy case, and
losing it thou wilt win ; for if thou dost wish to
go to law for to win, then when thou thinkest
thou hast won, thou wilt find that thou hast lost
most grievously. Wherefore, my brother, believe
of a surety that the straight way to salvation is the
way of loss. But when we do not bear tribulations
well, then we cannot pursue after the consolations
of eternity. A much greater consolation is it and
far more meritorious to endure wrongs and revil-
ings patiently without murmuring, for the love of
God, than to feed a hundred poor persons and fast
every day continuously. But what doth it profit
a man, or what joy doth it bring him, to despise
himself and afflict his body with long fasts and
vigils and scourgings, if he cannot endure a little
wrong at the hands of his neighbour ? For which
cause shall a man receive much more reward and
greater merit, than for all the afflictions that he
may lay on himself of his own will ; for to endure
revilings and injuries from his neighbour in humble

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 269

patience without murmuring, purgeth away sin
much more quickly than a fount of many tears.
Blessed is the man that always keeps before the
eyes of his mind the remembrance of his sin and
of the blessings of God ! for he will endure with
patience every tribulation and adversity, and there-
withal he looketh for great consolations. The
man who is truly humble looks not for any merit
or reward from God ; but studies only how he
may please Him in every way, knowing that he is
His debtor ; and every good thing that he hath,
he knoweth that he hath of the goodness of God
alone, and not for any merit of his own ; and in
all adversity, he knoweth that of a surety it hath
befallen him for his sins. A certain brother asked
Brother Giles, saying : ^' Father, if in our time
there should fall some great adversities and tribu-
lations, what should we do then ? " Whereunto
replied Brother Giles, saying : " My brother, I
would have thee know that if the Lord were to
rain down stones and lightning from Heaven, they
could not hurt us or do us any harm, if we were
such as we ought to be ; for if man were truly
what he ought to be, every evil and every tribu-
lation would be turned into blessings; for we know
what saith the Apostle, that all things work to-
gether for good to them that love God ; and so
likewise to the man of evil will, all good things
are turned to evil and to judgment. If thou wilt
be saved and go to the glory of heaven, thou must
never seek for revenge or justice on any creature ;
for the heritage of the Saints is always to do good
and always to receive evil. If thou wert truly to

270 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

recognize how often and how grievously thou hast
offended thyCreator,thouwouldestunderstand that
it is right and just that all creatures should perse-
cute thee and work thee pain and tribulation, for
these creatures would be taking vengeance for the
offences thou hast committed against thy Creator.
A great and high virtue is it for a man to overcome
himself, for he that overcometh himself, will over-
come all his enemies and will attain unto all good.
A much higher virtue would it be, if a man were
to suffer himself to be overcome by all men ; for
then would he be lord over all his enemies, to wit,
vices and the devils and the world and his own
flesh. If thou wilt be saved, renounce and despise
every consolation that the things of the world or
mortal creatures can give thee ; for more grievous
and more frequent are the falls that come through
the prosperity and the consolations that spring not
up through adversities and tribulations.'' Once
on a time a Religious murmured against his Su-
perior in the presence of Brother Giles, on account
of a heavy obedience that he had laid upon him ;
unto whom quoth Brother Giles: ^'Dearly beloved,
the more thou wilt murmur, the heavier will be-
come thy burden and the harder for thee to bear :
and the more humbly and devoutly thou wilt put
thy neck under the yoke of holy obedience, the
lighter and sweeter will this obedience be for thee
to bear. But methinks thou art not willing to be
reviled in this world for the love of Christ, yet
dost wish to be honoured with Christ in the world
to come ; thou art not willing to be persecuted
and cursed in this world for Christ's sake, yet in

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 271

the next world dost wish to be blessed and received
by Christ ; thou art not willing to labour in this
world, but would rest and be at peace in the world
to come. Brother, brother, I say unto thee that
thou art grievously deceived ; for it is by the path
of misery and shame and reproach that man cometh
unto true celestial honour ; and it is by enduring
mockings and cursings patiently for the love of
Christ, that man cometh unto the glory of Christ.
Therefore well saith a proverb of the world that
saith : He that gives not what he ought, gets not
what he would. Right useful is the nature of the
horse; for however fast the horse may run, yet he
suffers himself to be ruled, guided, and turned up
and down, backwards and forwards, according to
the will of the rider ; and so likewise ought the
servant of God to do, to wit, he should suffer
himself to be ruled, guided, bent, and turned,
according to the will of his superior, and like-
wise of any one else, for the love of God. If
thou wilt be perfect, study diligently to be full
of grace and virtue, and fight valiantly against
vices, patiently enduring all adversity for the love
of thy Lord, who for love of thee suffered tribu-
lation, affliction, revilings, scourging, crucifixion
and death, not through His own fault, nor for
His own glory, nor for His own profit, but solely
for thy salvation. And to the end that thou
mayest do what I have told thee, do thou take
heed above all that thou conquer thyself; for it
profiteth a man little to draw and lead souls to
God, if he doth not first conquer and draw and
lead himself.

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VI. Of slothfulness

The man that standeth idle loseth this world
and the next ; for he brings forth no fruit in
himself, and profits not his neighbour. It is im-
possible for a man to grow in virtue, without
carefulness and without much labour. When
thou canst stand in a safe place, stand not in a
doubtful one : he standeth in a safe place who is
careful and anxious and works and labours through
God and for the Lord, and not for fear of punish-
ment nor for reward, but for the love of God.
The man who refuses to toil and labour for the
love of Christ, refuses in very sooth the glory of
Christ : and even as carefulness is useful and
helpful unto us, so is carelessness ever contrary
to us. Like as laziness is the path that leads to
hell, even so is holy carefulness the path that leads
to heaven. Right careful ought a man to be, to
gain and keep the virtues and the grace of God,
always working with that grace and virtues faith-
fully ; for oftentimes doth it happen to the man
who works not faithfully, that he loseth the fruit
for the leaves, or the grain for the straw. To
one man God freely granteth the good fruit with
few leaves, and to another He giveth both the
fruit and the leaves : and some others there be
that have neither fruit nor leaves. A weightier
matter doth it seem to be, to know how well to
guard and keep discreetly the blessings and graces
the Lord doth give, than to know how to obtain
them ; for, although a man know well how to

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 273

gain them, yet if he know not how to keep and
guard them well, he will never be rich ; but
others gain little by little and so grow rich,
because they guard well their gains and their
treasure. O how great a mass of water would
the Tiber have collected, if it did not anywhere
run away ! Man craves of God infinite gifts,
without measure and without end ; but to his
love of God doth he set both measure and end.
He that would be loved of God and receive of
Him infinite merit without measure or stint, must
love God without measure or stint, and always
yield Him endless service. Blessed is the man
that loveth God with all his heart and with all
his mind, and always afflicts his body and mind
for the love of God, and seeketh no other reward
under Heaven save that he may recognise that
he is Its debtor. If a man were to fall into great
need and poverty, and another man were to say
to him : " I will lend thee a very precious thing
for the space of three days ; and know that if
within these three days thou make good use of
this thing, thou wilt gain endless treasure so as
to be rich for ever": now sure is it that that
poor man would be right careful to make good
and diligent use of this thing so precious, and
much would he study to bring forth good fruit
therefrom. So in like manner do I say, that the
thing that hath been lent to us by the hand of
God, is our body, the which the good God hath
lent us for three days ; for all our times and years
are in comparison as three days. Wherefore if
thou wouldest be rich and enjoy the divine sweet-

s

2 74 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

ness to all eternity, then study to make good use,
and to bring forth good fruit, of this thing that
the hand of God hath lent, to wit, thy body in
this space of three days, to wit, in the brief period
of thy life ; for if thou art not careful to lay up
store in the present life, whileas thou hast time,
thou wilt never be able to enjoy those eternal
riches nor find holy rest in that celestial peace
for evermore. But if all the possessions in the
world belonged to one man, who never made use
of them nor let others make use of them, what
profit or what gain would he have of these things ?
Of a sooth, he would have no gain or profit at
all. But it well might be, that a man should
have few possessions and making good use of
them find much profit therein, and bring forth
fruit enough and to spare, both for himself and
for others. Saith a proverb of the world : Never
set an empty pot to boil on the fire, in hope that
your neighbour will fill it. In like manner God
willeth not that any grace should remain empty ;
for the good God never giveth grace to any man,
to the end that he may keep it empty, but rather
He giveth it, that man may fill it with the fruit
of good works ; for a good will sufficeth not, if
a man studies not to follow it, and fill it with the
fruit of good works. Once on a time a beggar
said to Brother Giles : ** Father, I pray thee give
me some consolation.'' Whereat Brother Giles
replied : '* My brother, study to stand well with
God, and straightway wilt thou have the con-
solation thou dost need ; for if a man maketh
not ready within his soul a dwelling-place wherein

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 275

God may rest and dwell, he will never find shelter
or rest or true consolation in any creatures.
When a man wisheth to do evil, he hath never
need of much counsel, for the doing it ; but for
doing good, many men seek counsel and make
long delay." Once on a time quoth Brother Giles
to his companions : '* My brothers, meseemeth
that in these present days there is found no man
that is willing to do the things that he seeth to
be more profitable, not only for his soul but also
for his body. Believe me, my brothers, that in very
sooth I could swear, that the more a man doth flee
and shun the burden and the yoke of Christ, the
more grievous doth he make it to himself, and
the weightier and heavier doth he feel it ; and the
more eagerly a man taketh it upon him, always
adding to the weight of his own free will, the
lighter doth he feel it and the more sweet to bear.
Now may it please God that men may win and
gain for themselves in this world the good things
of the body, in like measure as they gain those of
the soul ; seeing that the soul and the body, with-
out doubt, must be joined together, to suffer for
ever, or for ever rejoice ; to wit, either to suffer
pains and torments incalculable for ever and ever
in hell, or everlastingly enjoy with the Saints and
Angels in Paradise, joys and consolations unspeak-
able, through the merits of good works." A
certain brother spake thus unto Brother Giles :
*' Father, meseemeth that we do not yet know
how to recognise what is good for us." Whereat
Brother Giles replied : " My brother, certain it
is that every man practises the art that he has

276 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

learnt, for no man can do good work unless he
hath first learnt : wherefore I would have thee
know, my brother, that the noblest art in the
world is to do good work : and who can know
this, unless he first have learnt it ? Blessed is
the man unto whom no created things can bring
evil ! but more blessed is he who from everything
that he sees and hears, receiveth good to the
edifying of himself/'

VII. Of contempt oj the world

'' Many sorrows and many woes will that
wretched man have, who setteth his desire and
his heart and his hope on earthly things, for
the which he abandons and loses the things of
heaven, and at the last will also lose these things
of earth. The eagle flieth high : but if she had
a weight tied to her wings, she could no more
fly high ; so man for the weight of earthly things
cannot fly high, to wit, cannot attain to perfec-
tion ; but the wise man, that tieth the weight of
remembrance of death and of judgment to the
wings of his heart, cannot by reason of his great
fear go astray and fly among the vanities and
the riches of this world, the which are the cause
of damnation. Every day we see the men of
the world working and toiling much, and setting
themselves in great perils of body, for to gain
these deceitful riches ; and when they have toiled
and gained much, in one moment will they die
and will leave behind all that they have gained

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 277

in their life ; and therefore must we not trust
in this deceitful world, the which leadeth astray
every man that believeth therein, sith it is full of
lies. But whoso desireth and wisheth to be great
and very rich, let him seek after and love the
riches and the good things that are eternal, the
which always satisfy the soul and never weary
it and never grow less. If we do not wish to go
astray, let us take example from the beasts and
the birds, the which when they are fed, are well
content, and seek naught save their life from hour
to hour, as they have need : and so should man
be content with his bare necessities, with temper-
ance and without superfluity." Brother Giles said
that the ants pleased not S. Francis as did the
other animals, by reason of the great care they
took in gathering together and storing up abund-
ance of grain at the time of summer for the
winter : but he said that the birds pleased him
much more, for they never gathered anything
together on one day for the other. But the
ant setteth us an example that we should not
stand idle in the summer time of this present life,
lest we be found empty and without fruit in the
winter of the last and final judgment.

VI 11. Of holy chastity

Our wretched and weak human flesh is like the
pig, that ever delighteth to wallow and befoul
itself in the mud ; deeming the mud its great
delight. Our flesh is the devil's knight : for it

278 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

resists and fights against all those things that are
of God and for our salvation. A certain brother
asked Brother Giles, saying : " Father, teach me
in what manner we may be able to keep ourselves
from carnal sin " ; whereat Brother Giles replied :
" My brother, he who desireth to move a great
weight or a large stone to some other place, must
needs study to move it more by skill than by force.
So we likewise, if we would conquer carnal sins and
gain the virtue of chastity, can gain it better by
humility and by the good and discreet guidance of
our spirit, than by the presumptuous severity and
violence of our penances. Every sin troubles and
bedims holy, resplendent chastity ; for chastity is
like unto a bright mirror, that is bedimmed and
troubled not only by the touch of filthy things,
but also by the breath of man. And it is nowise
possible for a man to attain unto any spiritual
grace, so long as he is found to be inclined unto
carnal lusts ; wherefore turn and turn thou where
thou wilt, thou wilt never find any other means
whereby to attain unto spiritual grace, save only
that thou conquer every carnal sin. Wherefore
fight valiantly against thy weak and sensual flesh,
that is thy proper enemy and ever seeketh to gain-
say thee night and day. Whoso overcometh the
flesh, our mortal enemy, let him be sure that he
hath conquered and discomfited all his enemies,
and will soon attain unto spiritual grace and
every good state of virtue and perfection." Quoth
Brother Giles: *' Among all the other virtues
would I put the virtue of chastity first : for most
sweet chastity hath in itself some perfectness of

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 279

itself alone ; but no other virtue can be perfect,
lacking chastity." A certain brother asked Brother
Giles, saying : *' Father, is not the virtue of charity
greater and more excellent than that of chastity ? "
And Brother Giles said : '' Tell me, brother, what
is there in the whole world more chaste than holy
charity ? " Oftentimes used Brother Giles to sing
this song, to wit : '' O holy chastity, How great
and good thou art ! Truly precious art thou, and
thy savour is so sweet, that whoso tastes it not,
knows not how excellent it is. Wherefore the
foolish know not thy worth.'' A certain brother
asked Brother Giles, saying : *' Father, thou that
so much commendeth the virtue of chastity, I pray
thee expound to me what manner of thing is
chastity." Whereat replied Brother Giles : " My
brother, I tell thee that the name of chastity be-
longeth properly to the anxious care and constant
watching of the bodily and spiritual senses, pre-
serving them for God alone pure and unstained."

IX. Of temptations

" The great graces that man receives from God,
man cannot keep in tranquil peace ; for many
things spring up that be contrary and disturbing
and hostile to these graces, for the more a man is
pleasing unto God, the more is he assailed and
assaulted by the devils. Therefore a man should
never cease to fight, to the end that he may live
up to the grace received from God ; for the fiercer
the battle be, the more precious will be the crown.

2 8o THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

if he gain the victory. If we have not many a
battle and many a hindrance and many a tempta-
tion, we should not be such as we ought to be
in the spiritual life. But true it is that if a man
walked aright and discreetly in the way of God, he
would find nor toil nor weariness in his journey,
but the man that walketh in the way of the world
will never be able to escape the many toils, weari-
ness, anguish, tribulations, and sorrows, even to
the day of his death." Quoth a certain brother
unto Brother Giles : " My brother, meseemeth
that these two sayings are contrary the one to the
other ; for in the first thou dost say : The more a
man is virtuous and pleasing unto God, the more
adversaries hath he and the more battles in the
spiritual life ; and thereafter thou dost say the
contrary, to wit : If a man walked aright and dis-
creetly in the way of God, he would feel nor toil
nor weariness in his journey.'' Whereat Brother
Giles, explaining the opposition between these two
sayings, answered thus : ** My brother, sooth is it
that the devils assail with fierce temptations those
that have a good will, more than they do those
that have not a good will, to wit, after the mind
of God. But the man that walketh discreetly and
zealously in the way of God, what toil or weariness
or hurt could the devils and all the adversities in
the world bring upon him ì sith he knows and sees
that he sells his wares for a thousand times more
than they are worth. But I tell thee yet more
surely : He that hath been kindled by the fire of
love divine, the more he were assailed by sins, the
more would he hate and abhor them. The worst

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 281.

devils are wont to run and tempt a man, when he
is in a sickness or in any bodily weakness or in any
trouble, or in cold or anguish, or hungered or
thirsty, or when he hath suffered some wrong or
shame or temporal or spiritual loss; for these mali-
cious ones know that in such hours and moments
a man is more ready to receive temptations. But
I tell thee that for every temptation and every sin
that thou shalt overcome, thou wilt gain a virtue ;
and by overcoming that vice wherewith thou art
assailed, thou wilt receive therefor so much the
greater grace and the more glorious crown." A
certain brother took counsel of Brother Giles,
saying : *' Father, oft-times am I tempted with a
very sore temptation, and many a time I have
prayed to God that He would deliver me there-
from ; yet the Lord hath not delivered me ; give
me counsel, Father, what I should do." Where-
unto replied Brother Giles : " My brother, the
more nobly a king doth furnish his knights with
stout and lordly armour, the more stoutly doth
he wish them to fight against his enemies, for the
love of him." A certain brother asked Brother
Giles, saying: "Father, what remedy can I find
so as to be able to go to prayers with more willing-
ness and more desire and more fervour ^ for when
I go to prayers, I feel hard and slothful and dry
and indevout." To whom Brother Giles replied,
saying : *' A certain king hath two servants : and
the one hath arms wherewith to fight, but the other
hath none, and they twain wish to go into the battle
and fight against the enemies of the king. He
that is armed, entereth into the battle and fighteth

2 82 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

valiantly ; but the other that hath no arms, saith
unto his Lord : ' My Lord, thou seest that I be
naked without arms ; but for love of thee will I
gladly go into the battle, and fight all unarmed as
I am.' Then the good king, beholding the love
of his faithful servant, saith unto his attendants :
' Go with this my servant, and clothe him with all
the arms that he needeth for to fight, that with
safety he may enter into the battle ; and sign all
his arms with my royal sign, that he may be known
as my faithful knight.' And even so doth it oft-
times happen to a man when he goes to pray, to
wit, when he findeth himself to be naked, indevout,
lazy and hard of soul ; but if he constraineth him-
self, for the love of God, to enter into the battle
of prayer : then our kind King and Lord, seeing
the endeavour of His knight, giveth him by the
hands of His ministering Angels the devotion and
the fervour of good will. Another time doth it
happen that a man will begin some great work of
grievous toil, such as to clear and till the ground,
or a vineyard, so as to reap fruit in season. And
many by reason of the much toil and many vexa-
tions grow weary and repent of the work they
have begun : but if a man constraineth himself
until the season of fruit, then forgetteth he all his
weariness and abideth consoled and glad, seeing the
fruit that he can enjoy. And so a man that is
strong in the hour of temptation, will attain unto
many consolations ; for after tribulations, saith S.
Paul, are given consolations and the crowns ot lite
eternal : and not only will the reward be given in
Heaven to those that resist temptations, but also

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 283-

in this life, as saith the Psalmist : Lord, according
to the multitude of my temptations and my griefs,
will Thy consolations make glad my soul ; so that
the greater the temptation and the battle, the more
glorious will be the crown." A certain brother
asked counsel of Brother Giles touching a certain
temptation, saying : '' O Father, I am tempted by
two most grievous temptations ; the one is : so
soon as I do any good thing, straightway am I
tempted by vain glory ; the other is : so soon as
I do any evil, I fall into such sadness and such
melancholy, that I come well-nigh to despair."
Whereunto replied Brother Giles: " My brother,
thou dost wisely to bewail thy sin, but I counsel
thee to mourn discreetly and temperately, and
always to remember that the mercy of God is
greater than thy sin. But if the infinite mercy of
God receiveth to repentance the man that is a great
sinner and sinneth of his own free will, whenas he
doth repent, dost thou believe that this good God
abandoneth the good sinner that sinned not will-
ingly and now is contrite and penitent ? Likewise
I counsel thee that thou never cease to do good,
through fear of vain glory ; for if a man when he
wisheth to sow his grain should say : ' I will not
sow ; for if I sowed, perchance the birds would
come and eat it up,' and so saying should not sow
his seed, sure is it that he would reap no fruit that
year. But if he sows his seed, albeit the birds eat
some of it, yet the greater part the labourer reaps.
So when a man is assailed by vain glory, if so be
that he doth not good deeds for vain glory's sake,
but striveth ever against it, I say that he loseth

2 84 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

not the merit of the good deeds that he doth, by
reason of. his being tempted/' A brother said
unto Brother Giles: ''Father, it is written that
S. Bernard on a time repeated the seven Penitential
Psalms with such peace of mind and such devo-
tion that he thought of nothing else save only the
proper meaning of the aforesaid psalms," Whereat
Brother Giles answered thus : " My brother, I
deem that there is more valour in a lord that
holds his castle when it is besieged and assaulted
by his enemies, and defends himself so valiantly
that he suffers no one of his enemies to find en-
trance therein, than there is in one that lives at
peace and suffereth no let."

X. Of holy penitence

Much ought a man always to afflict and mortify
his body, and willingly endure all wrong, tribula-
tion and anguish, sorrow, shame, contempt, re-
proach, adversity and persecution, for the love of
our good Lord and Master, Jesu Christ, who hath
set us an example in His own self: for from the
first day of His glorious Nativity until His most
holy Passion He always endured anguish, tribula-
tion, sorrow, contempt, trouble and persecution,
all for our salvation. And therefore, if we would
come unto a state of grace, we must needs walk,
so far as in us lies, in the footsteps of our good
Master, Jesu Christ. A certain man of the world
asked Brother Giles, saying : '' Father, how can
we that dwell in the world attain unto a state o\
grace ì " Whereunto Brother Giles replied : ''My

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 285*

brother, a man must first of all mourn for his
sins with a contrite heart ; then should he confess
to the priest with bitterness and sorrow of heart
accusing himself alone, without concealment or
excuse; then should he perfectly fulfil the penance
laid on him by his confessor : and likewise should
guard against all vice and sin and every occasion
of sin ; and still more, should he exercise himself
in good works of virtue towards God and towards
his neighbour ; and by so doing will a man come
unto a state of grace and virtue. Blessed is the
man that mourneth continually for his sins, always
bewailing night and day with bitterness of heart,
for the offences that he hath committed against
God ! Blessed is the man that hath always before
the eyes of his mind the afflictions, the pains and
the sorrows of Jesu Christ, and for love of Him
neither desires nor finds any temporal consolation
in this bitter and tempestuous world, until he
cometh to the celestial consolation of eternal life,
wherein all his desires shall be fulfilled with joy!"

XI. Of holy p rayer

Prayer is the beginning and the middle and the
end of all good ; prayer illumineth the soul, and
thereby doth the soul distinguish good from evil.
Every man that is a sinner should make this prayer
every day continually, with fervour of heart : to
wit, should pray humbly to God to give him a
perfect knowledge of his own wretchedness and of
his sins, and of the loving kindnesses that he hath
received and still receiveth from the good God.

2 86 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

But the man. that knows not how to pray, how
can he come unto the knowledge of God ? And
all those that would be saved, if they be folk of
true intelligence, must needs be converted in the
end to holy prayer. Quoth Brother Giles : " If
there was a man that had a son who had done so
much evil that he had been condemned to death
or been banished from the city, of a surety with
all his might this man would strive both day and
night and every hour to save the life of this his
son, or bring him back from banishment, making
many prayers and supplications, and giving gifts
and presents, as much as he could, both of him-
self and through others, his friends and relatives.
Then if a man doth so much for his son, who is
but mortal ; how much more careful ought a man
to be, to pray to God and make others also prav
to Him, both good men in this world and His
Saints in the next, on behalf of his own soul, which
is immortal, when it hath been banished from the
celestial city or hath been damned to death eternal
for its many sins ! " Ouoth a certain brother unto
Brother Giles : *' Father, meseemeth that much
ought a man to mourn and be full sorrow-
ful, when he cannot have grace of devotion in
his prayers." Whereunto replied Brother Giles :
*'* My brother, I counsel thee to go gently, gently;
for, if thou hadst a little good wine in a cask, and
in the cask the lees were still underneath this sood
wine, of a surety thou wouldest not shake or move
that cask, to the end that the good wine be not
mixed with the lees ; and so I say : so long as
prayer be not separated from every sinful and

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 287

carnal lust, it will not receive divine consolation ;
for the prayer that is mixed with the lees of fleshly
lust is not clear in the sight of God. Wherefore
should a man strive, as far as he may, to free him-
self from all the lees of sinful lust ; to the end
that his prayer may be pure in the sight of God,
and he may thereby receive divine devotion and
consolation." A certain brother asked Brother
Giles, saying: *' Father, how comes it that when
a man is praying to God, he is much more tempted,
assailed and tormented than at any other time ì "
Whereat Brother Giles answered thus : ** When a
man pleadeth his cause before the judge, and goeth
for to tell his reasons to the judge, as it were ask-
ing of him advice and help : whenas his adversary
is ware of it, he straightway appeareth to oppose
and to resist the plea of the other, and hindereth
him sore, as it were gainsaying his every word ;
and so likewise doth it befall, when a man goeth
to pray, asking God to help his cause ; and then
doth straightway appear his adversary, the devil,
with his temptations, for to resist him sore and
to gainsay him, and to put forth all his strength
and art and subtility, to hinder his prayer, so that
his prayer may not be acceptable in the sight of
God, and the man gain no merit from the prayer
nor any consolation. And this may we see quite
clearly ; for when we speak of worldly things, at
that time we suffer no temptation nor distraction
of mind, but if we go to prayer, to gladden and
comfort the soul with God, straightway shall we
feel the mind pierced with divers arrows, to wit,
with divers temptations, which the devils shoot

2 88 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

at us for to make our minds confused, so that
the soul may have no delight or consolation in its
converse with God/' Brother Giles said that a
man in prayer should do as doth a good knight
in the battle; who albeit he be pierced or wounded
by his enemy, doth not therefore straightway leave
the battle, but resisteth manfully so as to gain the
victory over his enemy, to the end that having
gained the victory, he may rejoice in his glory and
find comfort therein : but if he were to leave the
battle, so soon as he were stricken or wounded, of
a sooth would he be put to confusion and shame
and dishonour. So likewise ought we to do ; to
wit, not cease from prayer for every temptation,
but bravely resist ; for blessed is the man that
endureth temptation, as saith the Apostle ; for
overcoming, he shall receive the crown of life
eternal : but if a man by reason of temptations
ceaseth from prayer, of a surety will he be con-
founded, defeated and discomfited by his enemy,
the devil. A certain brother said to Brother
Giles : " Father, I have seen certain men, that
have received of God the gift of devotion and of
tears at the time of prayer, but I cannot feel any
of these graces, when I pray to God." Whereunto
replied Brother Giles: ''My brother, I counsel thee
to labour humbly and faithfully in thy prayer ; for
the fruits of the earth cannot be had without toil
and without labour first being spent thereon ; and
even after this labour, the desired fruit doth not
come at once, before its due season hath arrived :
even so God giveth not these graces unto a man
in prayer at once, before the fitting time hath

KkANCISCAN FKIAKS CHANTINO IN THK CHOIR

( h'roiii a MS. in the IJritis/i Ahiseiiin. See Lisi of Illustrations)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 289

come, and before his mind is purged from every
carnal affection and sin. Wherefore, my brother,
labour humbly in prayer; for God, who is all-good
and gracious, knoweth and discerneth all things
best : when the time and the season is come, in
His loving kindness He will give thee much fruit of
consolation." Another brother said unto Brother
Giles : *' What dost thou do. Brother Giles ? what
dost thou do. Brother Giles ? " And he replied :
" I do that which is evil " ; and the brother said :
'* What evil dost thou do ? " Then Brother Giles
turned to another brother and said unto him: ''Tell
me, my brother, who, thinkest thou, is the readier,
our Lord God to grant us His grace, or we to re-
ceive it.^" And that brother replied: ''Of a surety
God is more ready to give us His grace than we
to receive." Then quoth Brother Giles : " Do we
then do what is good ? " And that brother said :
" Nay, we do evil." Then Brother Giles turned
him unto the first brother, and said : " Behold,
brother, how clearly is it shown, that we do evil ;
and how true is the answer that I gave, to wit,
that I do evil." Quoth Brother Giles : " Many
works are praised and lauded in the Holy Scrip-
ture, to wit, the works of mercy and other holy
works ; but our Lord speaking of prayer, said
thus : The heavenly Father seeketh men that will
worship Him on earth in spirit and in truth."
Again, Brother Giles said: "The true Religious
are like wolves ; for they seldom go abroad in
the sight of men, save only in great necessity, but
straightway they study how to return to their
own secret place without lingering or continuing

T

290 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

among men. Good works are the ornament of
the soul." A certain brother, a companion and
familiar friend of Brother Giles, said unto him :
" Father, but wherefore dost thou not sometimes
go to speak of the things of God, and teach and
care for the salvation of the souls of Christian
folk?" Whereat replied Brother Giles: '* My
brother, I would fain satisfy my neighbour with
humility, and without loss to my soul, to wit, with
prayer." And that brother said : " At least thou
shouldest sometimes go to visit thy kinsfolk."
And Brother Giles replied : *' Knowest thou not
what the Lord saith in the Gospel : Every one
that hath forsaken father and mother, brothers,
sisters, lands, for My name's sake, shall receive
an hundredfold ? " Then he said : '* A nobleman
entered the Order, whose riches were worth well-
nigh sixty thousand pounds : therefore great gifts
await those that for the love of God leave large
possessions, sith God giveth a hundredfold more.
But we who are blind, when we see a man of virtue
and grace in the sight of God, cannot comprehend
his perfectness, by reason of our own imperfection
and blindness. But if a man were truly spiritual,
scarcely ever would he wish to hear or see any one,
save only in great need : for the truly spiritual
man desires to be united to God through con-
templation." Quoth Brother Giles to a certain
brother : " Father, gladly would I know what
is contemplation." And that brother replied :
'* Father, I do not yet know." Then said Brother
Giles : *' Meseemeth that the grade of contempla-
tion is a heavenly fire and a sweet devotion of the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 291

Holy Spirit, and a rapture and uplifting of the
mind intoxicated in the contemplation of the un-
speakable savour of the divine sweetness, and a
happy, peaceful and sweet delight of soul, that is
rapt and uplifted in great marvel at the glorious
things of heaven above; and a burning sense within
of that celestial glory unspeakable."

XII . Of holy spiritual prudence

O thou servant of the heavenly king, that
wouldest learn the mysteries and the profitable
and virtuous prudence of holy spiritual teaching,
open well the ears of the mind of thy soul, and
receive with the desire of thy heart, and carefully
keep in the chamber of thy memory, the precious
treasure of these spiritual doctrines and admoni-
tions and counsels, that I declare to thee : by the
which thou shall be enlightened and directed in
thy way, to wit, the way of spiritual life, and shalt
be defended from the evil and cunning assaults of
thy bodily and ghostly enemies, and with humble
boldness shalt go safely travelling through the
stormy sea of this present life, until at last thou
shalt come to the longed-for harbour of salvation.
Therefore, my son, take good heed and hearken
unto my words : If thou wouldest see well, put
out thine eyes and be blind ; if thou wouldest hear
well, become deaf; and if thou wouldest speak
well, become dumb ; and if thou wouldest walk
well, stand firm and walk with thy mind ; if thou
wouldest work well, cut off thy hands and work

292 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

with thy heart; and if thou wouldest love well,
then hate thyself; and if thou wouldest earn
and be rich, then lose and be poor ; and if thou
wouldest be glad and at peace, afflict thyself and
stand always in fear and trust not thyself; if
thou wouldest be exalted and have great honour,
humble thyself and put thyself to shame ; if thou
wouldest be held in high reverence, despise thy-
self, and do reverence to those that do thee despite
and dishonour ; if thou wouldest always enjoy the
good, always endure evil ; if thou wouldest be
blessed, desire that all men should curse and speak
ill of thee ; and if thou wouldest have true rest for
evermore, labour and afflict thyself and desire all
manner of temporal woe. O how great wisdom
is it to know how to do and bring these things to
pass ! but sith these things be very high and lofty,
God granteth them but unto few. But of a sooth
whoso studieth well all the things aforesaid and
bringeth them to effect, would have no need to
go to Bologna or to Paris, for to learn any other
theology ; for though a man were to live a thou-
sand years and had nothing to do with his hands
and nothing to say with his tongue ; yet would he
have enough to do in striving in his heart within,
working for the purifying and guidance and justify-
ing of his mind and of his soul. A man should
not wish to see or hear or say aught save what is
profitable to his soul. A man that knoweth not
himself, is not known. Wherefore woe unto us,
when we receive gifts and graces from the Lord
and know them not : but woe, woe to them that
receive them not nor know them, nor yet strive

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 293

to win and gain them. Man is made in the image
of God, and as he wills, so doth he change ; but
the good God changeth never.

XIII. Of profitable and unprofitable knowledge

A man that would know much, must strive
much and humble himself much, abasing himself
and bowing down his head till he touch the ground ;
then will God give him much knowledge and
wisdom. The highest wisdom is always to do
good, working the thing which is virtuous, and
guarding oneself well from every sin and from
every occasion of sinning, and always to think on
the judgments of God. On a time quoth Brother
Giles to one that would go to the schools for to
gain knowledge : '' My brother, wherefore dost
thou wish to go to the schools ì for I would have
thee know that the sum of all knowledge is to
fear and love, and these two things are sufficient
for thee : for so much wisdom is needful for a
man, so long as he is working ; and no more.
Vex not thyself much to study for the profit of
others, but always study to do the things that be
profitable to thyself; for oftentimes doth it be-
fall that we wish to gain much knowledge for to
help others and little for to help ourselves : and I
say unto thee that the word of God is not for him
that speaks, nor yet for him that hears, but for
him that worketh in truth. Some men who can-
not swim go into the water to help drowning men :
and it befalleth that they are all drowned together.

294 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

If thou dost not take thought for the salvation
of thine own soul, how wilt thou take thought
for that of thy neighbours ? and if thou dost not
do thine own work well, how wilt thou do the
work of another well ? for it cannot be believed
that thou lovest the soul of another more than
thine own. The preacher of the word of God
should be a banner and a candle and a mirror to
the people. Blessed is the man who in this wise
guideth others on the way of salvation, and ceaseth
not himself to go on the right path ! Blessed is
the man who in this wise calleth upon others to
run, and ceaseth not to run himself! More
blessed is he who in this wise helpeth others to
make gain and become rich and ceaseth not to
enrich himself. I ween that the good preacher
admonisheth and preacheth to himself more than
he doth to others. Meseemeth that the man that
would convert and lead the soul of sinners to the
path of God, should always be fearful lest he be
vilely led astray by them, and drawn into the
path of sin and of the devil and of hell.

XIV. Of good ana evil speaking

The man that speaketh good words and profit-
able to souls is of very sooth as it were the mouth
of the Holy Spirit ; and likewise the man that
speaketh evil words and unprofitable, is without
doubt the mouth of the devil, When at any
time good, spiritually-minded men be gathered
together to have speech of one another, they

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 295

should always speak of the beauty of holiness, to
the end that holiness might please them more and
they take the more delight therein ; for taking
pleasure and delight in virtue, they would the
more strive therein, and striving therein would
come to the greater love thereof; and through
this love and their continual striving and delight
in virtue, they would always rise up unto a more
fervent love of God and a higher state of soul ;
for the which cause would the Lord grant them
more graces and more gifts divine. The more
a man is tempted, the more doth he need to speak
of the holy virtues : for like as oft-times through
evil talk of sins, men lightly fall into sinful deeds ;
so oft-times through discourse of virtue, are men
lightly led and inclined to the holy deeds of virtue.
But what shall we say of the good that cometh
forth from virtue ? for it is so great and high,
that we cannot speak worthily of its high excel-
lence, so marvellous and so infinite. And likewise,
what shall we say of the evil and of the eternal
pain that cometh forth from sin ? For it is so
great an evil and so deep an abyss, that it passeth
all thought and comprehension and all possibility
of speech. I deem it no less a virtue to know
how well to keep silence than to know how well
to speak : and therefore methinketh that a man
ought to have a long neck like a crane, so that
when a man wished to speak, his words would
pass through many joints before they reached his
mouth ; that is to say, when a man wished to
speak, he would need to think and think again
and examine and discern right well both the how

296 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

and the why and the time and the manner and
condition of his hearers, and the effect on himself,
and the intention that prompted him.

XV, Of good perseverance

What profit is it to a man to fast much and to
pray and give alms and afflict himself with his
thoughts fixed on heavenly things, if he attain
not to the blessed haven of salvation he longeth
for, to wit, the haven of good and firm persever-
ance ? Sometimes doth it befall that on the sea
appeareth a ship very beautiful and great and
strong and new, and full of much riches ; and it
happeneth that by reason of a storm or through
the fault of the helmsman, that ship doth perish
and sink, and is miserably drowned and cometh
not to the longed-for haven. Then of what profit
is all its beauty and excellence and riches, sith it
perisheth so miserably in the waters of the sea ì
And likewise sometimes doth there appear upon
the sea a little ship and old and with scanty
merchandise ; and having a good helmsman and
discreet, it escapes from dangers, and comes safe
out of the deep waters of the sea and reaches the
longed-for haven ; and so doth it happen to men
in the stormy sea of this world. Wherefore quoth
Brother Giles : " A man should at all times fear ;
and albeit he be in great prosperity or in great
honour or in great perfectness, yet if he have
not a good helmsman, to wit, discreet government
of himself, he may perchance miserably perish in

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 297

the deep sea of sin : and therefore for well-doing
there is need most of all of perseverance, as saith
the Apostle : Not he that beginneth, but he that
perseveres unto the end, shall have the crown.
When a tree springs up, it does not become great
all at once ; and after that it has become great,
it does not therefore at once yield fruit ; and
when it doth bear fruit, it will not all come to
the mouth of the lord of that tree ; for much of
the fruit will fall to the ground and rot and be
spoiled and be eaten by the beasts of the field ;
but if it endureth until its due season, the greater
part of the fruit will be gathered by the lord of
that tree." Again quoth Brother Giles : ''What
would it profit me, if I were to taste of the
kingdom of Heaven for a hundred years and did
not continue therein, so that at the last I came
not to a good end ? " And also he said : " I
deem that these are the two greatest graces and
gifts of God that a man can attain to in this life,
to wit, to persevere with love in the service of
God, and to always guard himself from falling
into sin."

XVI. Of the true religious life

Quoth Brother Giles, speaking of himself : " I
would rather have a little of the grace of God
as a Religious in the Order, than have many of
the graces of God while living in the world :
for in the world there be many more dangers and
hindrances, and much less healing remedy and
help than in the religious life." Likewise said

298 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

Brother Giles: " Meseemeth that the sinner is
more afraid of his own good than of his loss and
hurt : for he is afraid to enter into the religious
life to do penance, but is not afraid to offend God
and harm his soul by staying in the hard and stiff-
necked world and in the noisome mire of his sins,
awaiting his eternal damnation at the last.'* A
man of the world asked Brother Giles, saying :
*' Father, what dost thou counsel me to do? to
enter into the religious life, or to stay in the
world doing good works ? '' Whereunto Brother
Giles made answer : *' My brother, certain is it
that if some needy wretch came to know that a
great treasure lay hid in a piece of common land,
he would not take counsel of any man, for to
learn whether it would be well for him to dig it up
and hide it in his house ; how much more ought a
man to make speed and haste with all care and
zeal to dig up the heavenly treasure that is found
in the holy orders and spiritual communities,
without seeking such counsel ! " And that man of
the world, hearing this answer, straightway gave
all that he had to the poor, and stripped of every
thing at once entered into the Order. Quoth
Brother Giles : " Many men enter into the religious
life, and do not put into effect and operation the
things that appertain to the perfect state of holy
religion ; but such men are like unto the cow-herd
that arrayed himself in the arms of Roland and
knew not either how to fight or tilt therewith.
Not every man knoweth how to ride a restive
and a vicious horse ; and if nathless he mount
him thereon, he cannot perchance keep himself

S. KUANCIS AIM'KAkS 'IO TMK CH Al'l 1:1^ Al' ARI,KS

(The AiciiiU'ii/i(i , I'' lor enee)

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 299

from falling, when the horse begins to run and
rear." Again quoth Brother Giles : " I deem it
no great matter that a man should know how to
find entrance to the court of the king ; nor do I
deem it a great matter for him to know how to
gain some favours or kindnesses from the king ;
but the great thing is that he know how to stand
well and to live in the king's court, guiding his
ways with discretion as is meet. The court of
the great King of heaven is the holy religious life,
wherein it is not hard to enter and gain some
gifts and graces from God ; but the great thing
is that a man know how well to live and to con-
tinue therein with discretion until his death."
Quoth Brother Giles : '' I would rather live in
the world always hoping and devoutly desiring to
enter the religious life, than wear the habit in the
Order, without any practice of virtuous deeds,
continuing in sloth and idleness. Therefore ought
the religious man always to strive to live a good
and virtuous life, knowing that he cannot live in
any other state than the one he hath professed."
Once on a time Brother Giles said : ** Meseemeth
that the Order of the Friars Minor has in very
sooth been sent by God for the profit and the
abundant edifying of the people ; but woe unto
us brothers if we be not such men as we ought
to be ! Of a surety there could not be found
in this life any men more blessed than we : for
he is holy that followeth the holy one, and he
is truly good that goeth on the path of good,
and he is rich that walketh in the footsteps of
the rich ; and the Order of the Friars Minor,

300 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

more than any. other Order, foUoweth the foot-
steps of the best and the richest and the holiest
there has ever been or ever will be, to wit, our
Lord Jesu Christ.

XVII, Of holy obedience

The more a Religious is brought under the
yoke of holy obedience through the love of God,
the more fruit will he give of himself to God ; the
more he is subject to his Superior for the honour
of God, the more free and pure will he be from
sin. The truly obedient Religious is like unto
the well-armed and well-horsed knight, that with-
out fear breaks safely through the ranks of his
enemies, because none of them can hurt him. But
he that obeys with murmuring and perforce, is like
unto the unarmed and ill-horsed knight; whoenter-
ing into the battle, will be hurled to the ground
by his enemies, and smitten by them and taken
prisoner, and sometimes cast into prison and slain.
The Religious who wishes to live according to the
choice of his own will, shows that he wishes to
build an everlasting habitation in the depths of
hell. When the ox putteth his neck under the
yoke, then he tilleth the ground well, so that it
brings forth good fruit in its season, but when
the ox wanders at will, the ground remains untilled
and wild, and giveth not its fruit in due season.
And so the Religious that boweth his head beneath
the yoke of obedience, giveth much fruit to the
Lord God in due season : but he that is not

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 301

obedient to his Superior with a good heart, re-
maineth barren and wild and without fruit of his
vows. Wise and high-souled men bow their heads
right willingly under the yoke of holy obedience
without fear or doubting, but foolish and cowardly
men strive to draw their heads away from under
the yoke of holy obedience and are not willing to
be subject unto any creature. I deem it higher
perfectness in the servant of God, merely to obey
his Superior through reverence and love for God,
than to obey God directly, should God lay His
commands upon him ; for whoso is obedient unto
a vicar of the Lord, would of a surety be still more
obedient to the Lord Himself, if he were bidden
of Him. Also meseemeth that if a man had
promised obedience unto another, and had the
grace to speak with Angels, and it should hap
that as he was speaking with the Angels, he were
called by him to whom he had promised obedience ;
I say that he ought straightway to leave his speech
with the Angels and should run to do obedience
for the honour of God. He that hath set his
neck beneath the yoke of holy obedience and
then wishes to withdraw his neck from under
that obedience, through desire to follow a life of
greater perfectness, I say that if he be not first
truly perfect in the state of obedience, then it is a
sign of great pride, which lurketh secretly within
his soul. Obedience is the road that leadeth unto
all good and to all virtue ; and disobedience is
the road to all evil and sin.

302 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

XVII. Of the remembrance of death

If a man had always before the eyes of his mind
the remembrance of death, and of the last judg-
ment, and of the pains and torments of the
damned, sure is it that nevermore would desire of
sin or of offending against God assail him. But
if it were possible for a man to have lived from
the beginning of the world even until now, and in
all that time have suffered all manner of adversity,
tribulation, pains, afflictions and griefs : and to
have died, and for his soul to have come to receive
eternal joy in heaven ; then what harm would all
the evil he had endured in the past time be unto
him ? And so likewise : if a man had had, through
all the time aforesaid, every good thing, all the de-
lights, pleasures and consolations in the world,
and then, at his death, his soul were to receive
the eternal pains of hell ; what joy would he
have of all the good he had received in the time
past ? Quoth a beggar unto Brother Giles : " I
tell thee that right gladly would I live long in this
world, and have great riches and abundance of all
things, and be much honoured of men." Where-
unto Brother Giles said : *' My brother, if thou
wert lord of all the world, and could live therein
a thousand years in all temporal joys, delights,
pleasures, and consolations, pray tell me what re-
ward and what merit thou wouldest hope to gain
from this miserable flesh, the which thou fain
wouldest serve and please ? But I tell thee that
the man who leadeth a good life after the mind

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 303

of God, and guardeth himself from offending God,
will surely receive of God the highest blessings,
and an infinite reward for ever, and great abund-
ance and great riches and great honour and long
life eternally in the everlasting glory of heaven :
unto which may the good God bring us, our
Lord and King Jesu Christ : to the glory of the
same Jesu Christ and of His poor little one,
Francis."

FROM THE MANUSCRIPT IN THE
BIBLIOTHECA ANGELICA

/. How the glorious Francis got the Church of
S. Mary of the Angels without Assisi

The glorious father Francis, seeing that the Lord

God willed to increase and multiply the number

of his brothers, began to speak, and said : *' Most

dear my little brothers and sons in Christ Jesu,

our blessed Lord willeth to multiply this our

poor little company. Wherefore it meseemeth it

would be well that we should ask for a church

from my lord the bishop, or from the canons of

S. Ruffino, or else from the abbot of S. Benedict,

together with a little house of mud and clay or

of osiers and lime, to the end that the brothers

may take rest there and do whatsoe'er be needful

for them, and give thanks unto our Lord God and

say the office, and devoutly mourn over our sins and

pray to God for sinners. And likewise that we may

pray and chasten this our flesh, and do some good

for the salvation of souls, and please God thereby

with the increasing of this our company. In this

place we are not in good case, nor doth it seem

to me fitting, sith the place that is called Rivo

Torto is small, and the brothers cannot turn

304

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 305

themselves, and we have no church wherein we
may say the office and give praise to God and
His most holy Mother, to whom we ever pray that
she may be our advocate. And so I command all
my brothers the which are or shall be in time to
come, that they ought always to honour and
magnify her in every manner and way that may
be possible unto them, and have her in utmost
devotion and reverence. Also I desire that we
be always her faithful servitors. And if we were
to pass away from this present life, how should
we bury the dead ? or take the sacraments of our
holy Church ì for the which cause, my little
brothers most beloved, how seemeth it good to
you to deal with this our case set forth to you ^ "
Straightway the brothers having heard the glorious
Francis, said : " Let it be done even as it pleaseth
thee '' ; rendering thanks to God for all that He
gave them. Then the blessed Francis arose with
some of his companions and went to the Bishop
of the city of Assisi, and spake to him the words
that he had spoken to the brothers: to the which
straightway the Bishop made answer that he had
not any church to give away. Whereby S. Francis,
understanding that he had the good will of the
Bishop, asked of him his blessing, and went his
way to the lord canons of S. Ruffino, and spake
to them the words aforesaid, who proudly making
answer bespake him : " Go in peace, for we wish
not that thou shouldest have or church or any
place ; so go and serve the hospitals, wherein are
sick folk in great number." S. Francis departing
from the canons, went straightway to the abbot

u

3o6 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

of S. Benedict of Monte Subasio, who, seeing S.
Francis so mortified, felt great devotion for him,
and knowing that he had left such vast possessions
for to serve God, began to weep for compassion
and devotion's sake. Thereafter the abbot asked
him what it was he went seeking, whereunto the
blessed Francis answered that he had been to the
Bishop and the lord canons to get him a church
and had not been able to come by one. '' For
the which cause we pray you that you be pleased
to grant us one, to the end that we may serve
God in all humility." Hearing this the abbot
said : " Wait here, my little brothers ; for that I
will summon the chapter for this matter, and
thereafter will give you answer." Hearing the
which words, the blessed Francis prayed unto God
together with his brothers that He would accom-
plish their desire. The chapter being gathered
together, the abbot set forth unto the monks the
petition of the servant of God, and besought
them to grant him that ruined church which was
called S. Mary of the Angels, about two miles
without Assisi. The monks hearing the which
matter, and understanding the sanctity of the
blessed Francis, spake all with many tears unto
the abbot : '* Father, do whatsoever is pleasing
unto thee ; sith we are content with this con-
dition, that if God should multiply this Order,
S. Francis should promise that this church be
always called the head of his Order and be always
above all others." The chapter being finished,
the abbot called S. Francis, and after many words
granted to him the church of S. Mary of the

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 307

Angels of the Portiuncola, the which was poorer
than any in the land of Assisi, and told him the
wish of the monks, to wit, that they desired that
that church should be the head of all the others.
Francis, being right joyous at this matter, pro-
mised them the things aforesaid. And sith that
church was called S. Mary of the Portiuncola, as
was said above, whereof the name is exceeding old,
the blessed Francis said: ''Thereby God willed
not that any church should first be granted to the
Brothers Minor, nor that they should build one
anew, to the end that at their coming the prophecy
might be fulfilled, that they should be poor and
under the name of the Queen of Heaven."

//. How S, Francis had a vision in S. Mary of

the Angels

Having taken leave of the abbot, the blessed
Francis said unto Brother Masseo of Marignano :
" Let us go together to see this place which the
abbot hath now given unto us." And when they
were come thither, they saw around the church
many nettles and thorns, and in front thereof was
the trunk of a fig-tree neath the which S. Francis
rested himself a while and began to sleep. Thereon
as he seemed to stand in prayer to him appeared
Christ with His Mother and spake unto him:
"My Francis, the land that is over sea, to wit,
Nazareth, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and all those
countries of the holy land wherein I was born,
the which are the heritage of my Mother, — it is

3o8 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

long time since that the Saracens possess and hold
it for the sins of the wicked Christians. And sith
it is just that she should have her heritage, I
desire that thou rebuild this house and have good
care of it, to the end that my Mother be honoured
of all faithful Christians by means of your good
offices." This heard, S. Francis had exceeding
great consolation therein. And returning unto
himself again forthwith he called Brother Masseo,
who was at prayer in the wood hard by thereto,
and told him that vision with great joy, at the
which Brother Masseo marvelled much. There-
after quoth the blessed Francis : '* Go quickly
unto our brothers, and tell them that we should
abide in this place by commandment of God and
of His Mother the Virgin Mary." This said,
Brother Masseo was away and told all to the
brothers, at the which they being right glad de-
parted thence and hied them with all their little
things to the place where was the glorious Francis,
even as their father had bidden them. Brother
Masseo revealed this apparition unto Brother
Marino, his nephew. And next thereafter Marino
told it, even as it hath been written. The brothers
in S. Mary of the Angels began straightway to
increase and multiply in numbers, and the fame
of them spread through all the city and through
the country of the valley of Spoleto. And be-
holding the sanctity of these brothers, the folk
of that country began to well intreat them and
to rebuild the church in such fashion that the
brothers were in right good case therein. And
albeit the abbot had given this place freely to

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S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 309

the blessed Francis without any payment, none
the less he wished that the church aforesaid
should be subject to the abbot, paying unto him
every year a porringer or bucket of fish, the
which are called mullets, to the end that the
brothers might not be able to have anything of
their own which was not subject to others. And
when the brothers brought these things aforesaid
to the monks, they would give them bread and
wine and likewise oil, so that if in time to come
they should have need of aught, they might know
where to go for alms. For the which cause high
laud and praise is due to this most holy Order
of S. Benedict, which was the first stay to the
Brothers Minor, to wit, by giving them alms and
other things whereof they stood in need.

///. How God revealed unto S. Francis that he
should go to Pope Honorius the Third for the
indulgence.

As the blessed Francis was one night in S.
Mary of the Angels, it was revealed to him from
Messer the Lord God that he should go to the
Chief Pontiff Messer Honorius the Third, who
was at that time in Perugia, for to obtain the
indulgence for the said church which he had just
repaired. And rising betimes in the morning, he
called Brother Masseo of Marignano by Assisi,
and told him all the vision aforesaid, and then
went they both to the Supreme Pontiff, to whom
he spake these words : *' Most Holy Father, sith

3 IO THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

1 have just now. let build a church to the honour
of the glorious Virgin Mary here in the plain of
Assisi, I pray your Holiness to deign amore Dei
to grant a plenary indulgence without any offer-
ing." Hearing this the Pope replied : *' This
may not be, for whoso asketh for an indulgence
must needs merit it, by stretching out the hand
of merit, id est doing alms. Nathless for how
many years dost thou desire this indulgence ? ''
Replied the servant of God, Francis : *' Most
blessed Father, may it please your Holiness not
to give me years but souls." And the Pope
saying, '* I wot not what thou wilt," S. Francis
bespake him : '* I desire, if it please you, that
whosoever shall come to this church, confessed
and contrite, be absolved from all his sins, from
fault and chastisement, in heaven and on earth,
from the day of his baptism even unto the day
and the hour in the which he shall come into
the said church." Then said the Holy Father :
" A great matter is this that thou hast asked,
Francis, and it is not the use in the Court of
Rome to grant such indulgence." Replied the
blessed Francis : '' What I ask, I ask not of my-
self, but on behalf of Him that hath sent me,
to wit, our Lord Jesu Christ." Thereat the Pope,
inspired of God, spake forthwith and said : " It
is our pleasure that thou have it." Hearing this
the cardinals that were there present said : '* Look
to it, Holy Father, if you give such an indulgence
unto him, you spoil that over-sea."^ And he

1 i.e. do away with one of the inducements to embark on a
crusade.

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 311

answered : " We have given and granted it,
therefore we will not and cannot undo what has
been done, but let us moderate it, that it may
suffice for only one natural day in every year."
And then he called the blessed Francis and said
unto him : '' Ere this we granted that whosoever
shall come and enter into the said church well
confessed and contrite shall be absolved from
fault and chastisement. And this is our will,
that it hold good once every year for ever, for
one natural day only, to wit, from vespers on the
first day of August including the night, up to
vespers of the day following." Having obtained
this indulgence, S. Francis bent his head unto
the Pope by way of thanksgiving and to take
leave. The Holy Father seeing him depart
called him, saying : " O simpleton, where goest
thou ? What dost thou take with thee of this
indulgence?" (^uoth the blessed Francis:
" Your word sufficeth for me. And if this is
the working of God He will show forth His work.
And of this matter I desire no other privilege
save that the Virgin Mary may be the scroll,
Christ the notary, and the Angels the witnesses."
And so said he departed from Perugia and turned
his steps towards Assisi. In the middle of the
way, as he rested awhile, he and his companion,
in a house that was there, and is still an abode of
lepers, he slept, and waking, after prayer, called
his companion and said : " Brother Masseo, I tell
thee in the name of God that the pardon which
the Supreme Pontiff has given on earth has been
confirmed in heaven." And this was told by

312 S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Brother Marino, nephew of the said Brother
Masseo, who oft-times heard it from the lips
of his uncle. The aforesaid Brother Marino
passed from this present life in 1308, full of years
and of sanctity. Amen.

FROM A MANUSCRIPT IN FLORENCE

/. How S. Francis appeared unto Brother Leo

G a time, when S. Francis had already passed
away from this life, there came unto Brother Leo
a longing to see that sweet father whom in life
he had loved so tenderly, and through this
longing he strove beyond his wont to afflict his
body with prayer and fastings, and besought God
with great fervour, to fulfil his desire. While
he was thus kindled in that prayer, S. Francis
appeared unto him all glorious with wings and
with claws of gold upon his hands and feet, like
an eagle. And Brother Leo being all refreshed
and consoled with this so marvellous an appari-
tion, said wondering : " Wherefore, my Father
most worshipful, hast thou appeared unto me
in a form so marvellous ? " Replied S. Francis :
" Among the other graces that the divine pity
hath given and granted me, are these wings, so
that being summoned I may straightway succour
the devout ones of this holy Order in their needs
and tribulations, and bear their souls and those
of my brothers, as it were flying, unto the
heavenly glory : and these claws so great and
strong and gilded have been given to me against

the devil, against the persecutors of my Religious,

313

314 THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF

against the reprobate brothers of this holy Order,
to the end that I may punish them with scratch-
ings hard and sharp, and bitter punishments. To
the praise of Christ. Amen.

//. How Brother Leo saw a terrible vision in a

dream.

On a time, Brother Leo saw the judgment of
God set forth in the vision of a dream. He saw
the angels playing on trumpets and divers instru-
ments, and calling a marvellous company together
in a meadow. And on the one side of the
meadow was set a ladder all vermeil that reached
from earth to heaven ; and on the other side of
the meadow was set another ladder all white that
was let down from heaven to earth. On the top
of the vermeil ladder appeared Christ, like a
Lord offended and exceeding wroth. And S.
Francis was some steps below near to Christ ;
and he went further down the ladder, and with
a loud voice and great fervour spake and called
out : " Come, my brothers, come boldly, fear not ;
come, draw nigh unto the Lord, for He calleth
you." At the voice of S. Francis the brothers
came, and began to climb up the vermeil ladder
with great confidence. When all had clomb
thereon, one fell from the third step, another
from the fourth, and others from the fifth and
sixth ; and all fell down one after the other, so
that none remained upon the ladder. S. Francis
being moved to compassion at so great a downtall

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 315

of his brothers, like a pitying father, besought the
Judge for his little sons that He might receive
them into His mercy. And Christ showed His
wounds all stained with blood, and said to S.
Francis ; *' This have thy brothers done unto Me."
And then as he thus prayed he went down a step
or two and called to the brothers that had fallen
from the vermeil ladder and said : *' Come, stand
up, my little sons and brothers ; take courage and
be not downcast ; run to the white ladder and
climb up, for thereby shall ye be received into
the kingdom of heaven ; run, brothers, as your
father monisheth you, to the white ladder."

And at the top of the ladder appeared the
glorious Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesu Christ,
all pitiful and kind ; and received those brothers,
and without any toil entered they into the realm
eternal. To the praise of Christ. Amen.

THE FAREWELL OF S. FRANCIS AT
HIS PARTING FROM THE MOUNT
OF ALVERNIA

Pax Chris ti

Jesu, Maria, my hope. Brother Masseo the
sinner, the unworthy servant of Jesu Christ, the
companion of S. Francis of Assisi, a man most
pleasing unto God, peace and salutation to all the
little brothers and little sons of the great Patriarch
Francis, the ensign of Christ. — The great Patriarch
being purposed to take a last farewell of this holy
Mount, on the 30th of September, 1224, on the
day of the festival of S. Jerome, Count Orlando
the Count of Chiusi sent him a sumpter ass, that
he might ride thereon, sith he was not able to put
his feet to the ground, they being wounded and
pierced with nails. Having heard mass betimes
in the morning in S. Mary of the Angels, as was
his wont, and having called us all into the Oratory,
he commanded us, for obedience sake, that we
should all abide in charity, and all be instant in
prayer, and have diligent care of that place, and
say the office day and night : moreover he com-
mended unto us all the holy Mount, exhorting

all his brothers as well present as to come, never

316

S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI 317

to suffer the said place to be profaned, but held
ever in respect and reverence, giving his blessing
to all such as should dwell therein, and to such
as should hold it in reverence and respect. On
the other hand he said : *' Confounded be those
who shall not show reverence to this place, and
expect not from God the chastisement they de-
serve." To me he said : " Know, Brother Masseo,
that it is my purpose that in this place there
abide religious men and from among the best of
my Order, that hereby the superiors shall be con-
strained to set here brothers from among the best.
Ah ... ah ... ah .. . Brother Masseo, I say
no more." He commanded and laid upon us.
Brother Angel, Brother Silvester, Brother Illu-
minato, and Brother Masseo, that we should have
special care of the place where happed that great
marvel of the imprinting of the holy Stigmata.
This said, he cried : ^' Unto God, — Farewell, fare-
well, farewell, Brother Masseo " ; then turning
himself to Brother Angel : '' Farewell, farewell,
farewell. Brother Angel " ; and likewise to Brother
Silvester and to Brother Illuminato. '^ Abide in
peace, sons most dear ; God bless you, sons most
dear ; farewell ! I depart from you in body, but
leave with you my heart. I go with Brother Little
Sheep of God (Brother Leo), and I go unto S.
Mary of the Angels, and never shall I here return
again. I depart — Farewell, farewell, all, farewell.
O Mount, farewell. Mount Alvernia, farewell.
Mount of Angels, farewell, most beloved, fare-
well, most beloved. Brother Falcon, I thank
thee for the love thou hast borne me. Farewell,

3i8 S. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

farewell, bright rock, whither never more shall I
come to visit thee. Farewell, O rock ; farewell,
farewell, farewell, O rock, that didst receive me
within thy vitals, while the devil was laughed to
scorn, no more shall we see each other. Farewell,
S. Mary of the Angels, I commend unto thee
these my sons. Mother of the Eternal Word."
Whileas our dear Father spake these words, our
eyes poured out founts of tears, and now he
departed weeping, taking away our hearts, while
we others remained orphans through the passing
of such a Father.

I, Brother Masseo, have written all, may God
bless us.

So S. Francis departed through Monte Acuto,
taking the road by Monte Arcoppe and Foresto ;
and being come to the top of the mountain, he
lighted down from the ass, and kneeled down
towards La Verna, and was fervent in prayer ;
then he blessed it, giving it his last farewell with
these words :

" Farewell, Mount of God, Holy Mount, Mons
coagulatus, Mons pinguis, Mons in quo beneplaci-
tum est Deo habitare. Farewell, Monte Alvernia ;
God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit
bless thee, abide in peace, sith we shall see each
other nevermore."

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson «5^ Co.
Edinburgh &* London

a^

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BOX'

Francis, of Assisi, Saint, 1 182

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The little flowers of St.

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1908

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